Competitive Pressure Hurts U.S. in Colombia

WASHINGTON - Mar 10/15 - SNS -- U.S. pea and lentil exporters have found it increasingly difficult to compete in Colombia since that country entered a free trade agreement with Canada, asserts the U.S. agricultural attache for the country in a recent report.

While the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) levelled the playing field and helped stimulate demand, the 2011 free trade agreement with Canada saw interest in buying peas and lentils from the United States drop as U.S. exporters struggled to "compete on quality and price".

Before the onset of the CTPA, the United States exported dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and other "pulses" within a tariff range of 5% to 60%. This affected all foreign imports into Colombia and within this environment the U.S. exporters had established significant trade connections, allowing for vast increases in the pulse trade from 2009 to 2011.