Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Colombians Favour Free Trade with U.S.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A majority of Colombians support bilateral commerce with the United States, according to a poll by YanHaas released by RCN. 53.6 per cent of respondents support the ratification of a free trade agreement with the North American country.
Álvaro Uribe has been Colombia's president since August 2002. In last May's election, he won a new four-year term with 62.2 per cent of all cast ballots. Uribe was able to run again after the House of Representatives and the Constitutional Court officially sanctioned a plan to allow presidential re-election.
The U.S. is Colombia's main trading partner, followed by Venezuela. In February 2006, Colombia and the U.S. finalized negotiations towards a free trade agreement. In August, U.S. president George W. Bush notified the U.S. Congress of his "intention to enter into a free trade agreement with the Republic of Colombia." The deal has yet to be ratified by both governments.
Colombian foreign minister María Consuelo Araújo said while in Brussels on Feb. 1: "We need this deal. There are 150,000 jobs at stake. If we do not have the framework these jobs will be destroyed." Araújo said the Colombian government expects the agreement to be ratified by American lawmakers before July.
On Feb. 9, U.S. state secretary Condoleezza Rice asked Congress to support the deal with Colombia, saying that "Free trade agreements are an essential instrument of President George Bush's foreign policy and during his time in office Congress has ratified agreements with twelve countries, including Chile, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic."
Polling Data
Do you support of oppose the ratification of a free trade agreement with the United States?
Support | 53.6% |
Oppose | 29.7% |
Not sure | 16.7% |
Source: YanHaas / RCN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 likely Colombian voters in the cities of Barranquilla, Bogota, Bucaramanga, Cali and Medellin, conducted on Feb. 7, 2006. Margin of error is 5 per cent.