Colombian President Álvaro Uribe traveled to Ottawa this week to meet with the Canada's Prime Minster Stephen Harper. Legislation to ratify a Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement now sits before the Canadian House of Commons. Harper believes free trade is vital to the international efforts against the global recession and called on Parliament to ratify the Colombia free-trade deal as soon as possible, arguing that Canada's implementation would send a strong signal to the forces of "creeping protectionism" alive and well in the U.S. Congress.

Canada's trade strategy continues to emphasize new trade deals to combat our current economic challenges, opening doors of trade with our hemispheric partners and elsewhere in the world. A new trade deal with Peru is before the Canadian Senate. On top of Canada's Latin America focus, Canada signed trade pacts with the European Free Trade Association at the end of April and trade talks are underway with the European Union.

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