In a new article for Poder, COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth examines economic reform in Peru. As the country achieves investment grade, President Alan Garcia seeks to build on the recently approved free-trade agreement with the United States, "ensuring the benefits reach as many people as quickly as possible."

The isolated killings of union members in Colombia do not justify holding up a U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, writes Edward Schumacher-Matos, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and a visiting professor of Latin American studies at Harvard University.

The reelection of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero offers both Spain and the United States the chance to mend ties and broaden cooperation in Latin America. Eric Farnsworth and Christian Gomez outline ways the two countries can support Latin America's standing in the global economy and democracy in the region.

In the Calgary Herald, AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal explains how, despite candidates' anti-NAFTA talk, the pact has proven a crucial investment and trade tool. "In a campaign about optimism and the promise of America, anti-NAFTA rhetoric simply doesn't fit," writes Segal.

In a recent op-ed, Republican Representative Roy Blunt advocates that the U.S. Congress must pass the Colombian Trade Promotion Act to ratify support for both our closest ally in the region and domestic exporters as well.

The North American Free Trade Agreement as been battered lately with sharp criticisms and calls has been made to withdrawal from it. In an op-ed, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez argues that this would be a disaster, hurting the U.S. economy, its workers, and its communities.

It may soon be time to pronounce last rites on the current path of U.S. trade policy in the Americas. With the presidential election season well underway, it is a good time to step back and consider where to go from here, writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in the latest issue of Poder magazine.