Negotiating the FTA, with Calculated Risk for the Agricultural Sector

Abstract

A transcription of remarks by a Colombian senator, this article analyzes the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States from the perspective of its implications for food security and the national agricultural sector. The author characterizes the structural asymmetries of the negotiating scenario and argues that Colombia has not capitalized on its particular strategic position to negotiate differentiated conditions. The text raises specific observations for the agricultural chapter of the treaty, including a "peace clause" to protect sensitive sectors such as rice in areas affected by armed conflict, and contrasts the national-security framing developed countries apply to agriculture with the purely commercial logic applied in Colombia.