President Bush signed documents to submit legislation for congressional approval of the U.S.-Colombia trade pact. The deal faces challenges in Congress, despite loosening trade restrictions for U.S. exports to Colombia.

More than sixteen months after its signing, the U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is now in the hands of the U.S. Congress.

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 White House has stepped up efforts to gain approval for the U.S.-Colombia trade deal. But the Bush administration could face a battle in Congress. 

Presidents of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela ended their standoff and the FARC appears increasingly weakened. But the contents of an assassinated FARC leader's laptop suggest the group's reach extends well past Colombia's borders. 

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.