Colombian Trade Delegation to Meet with U.S. Conformance and Standards Representatives

A meeting will be hosted Wednesday, October 24, at the offices of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington, DC, between a delegation of Colombian trade representatives and members of the U.S. standards and conformity community. The meeting, which follows the May 15, 2012, implementation of the U.S.-Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA), will include discussion of U.S. conformity assurance practices and standards-related issues, as well as U.S. market requirements. The seven members of the Colombian delegation are:

• Hernando José Gómez, director of Colombia's U.S. FTA Implementation Office
• Olga Lucía Lozano, advisor to Colombia's U.S. FTA Implementation Office
• Felipe Torres, director of economic regulation for Colombia's Ministry of Trade Industry and Tourism Hernan Alzate, director of the National Institute of Metrology of Colombia (INM)
• Gerardo Martinez, director of the National Accreditation Body of Colombia (ONAC)
• Maria Zulema Velez, director of the National Standardization Body of Colombia (ICONTEC)
• Ramón Madriñan, director of Colombia's National Association of Conformity Assessment Institutions (ASOCEC)

Under the U.S.-Colombian FTA, more than 1,100 Colombian products may be exported to the U.S. duty free, and tariffs on many other products will be phased out over the next decade; in addition, more than 80% of U.S. industrial and consumer products may be exported to Colombia without paying duties. The International Trade Commission (ITC) has projected that the FTA will increase exports of U.S. products to Colombia by more than $1.1 billion and increase U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $2.5 billion, supporting or creating thousands of U.S. jobs.

The delegation has expressed a particular interest in the following commercial sectors: electric- and gas-fueled domestic cooking stoves, ovens, hotplates, grills, and other related cookers; cotton or synthetic infant garments and accessories; iron or non-alloy steel concrete reinforcing rods; water tube boilers; non-consumable mixtures with a basis of odoriferous substances consisting of more than 10% alcohol by weight; non-citrus fruit essential oils; and frozen and unfrozen sweet biscuits, waffles, wafers, pastries, cake, and bread.

Individuals interested in participating in the October 24 meeting should contact Ryan Kane ([email protected]) and Julie Anglin ([email protected]) of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA).