WASHINGTON — At the Colombian Embassy in Washington, Ambassador Carlos Urrutia says there’s no doubt that his country’s trade deal with the U.S. has paid off: Colombian businesses are sending more socks and cosmetics to California, beet sugar to New York and glass to Florida to help with hurricane repairs.
U.S. officials are equally excited, saying U.S. businesses have improved their sales to the South American country by 20 percent. Manufacturers are exporting more transportation equipment, petroleum and coal products, processed foods and a long list of farm products, including soybeans, pork, wheat, grapes and dairy goods.
But a year after the agreement took effect, the growth in trade is producing mounting anxiety in some quarters.
In California, for example, progress has come with a price for the once-dominant flower industry: Colombian imports have jumped 7 percent in the past year. Less than 3 percent of the Valentine’s Day roses sold in this country were grown here. On New Year’s Day, just two of the 41 floats in the popular Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., featured flowers grown in the Golden State.
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