In a June 17 letter to the U.S. House Majority Leader John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the Council of the Americas urges swift passage of free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

During COA's annual Washington Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Latin American governments to speed up reforms, saying that U.S. President Barack Obama is pushing to get Congress to pass the stalled trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement has moved closer to submission to Congress. A new COA update looks at the progress and potential next steps for advancing the bilateral trade pact.

Senate Republicans ratcheted up pressure for passage of Colombia and Panama trade pacts this week, warning they would potentially block a commerce secretary appointment if the Obama administration does not usher through the deals.

"This opportunity for bipartisan collaboration is particularly true of the Colombia deal," writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini on The Huffington Post, "but only if the president is able to overcome the opposition of one of the most vocal and intense coalitions of anti-free trade groups ever."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner suggested February 16 that free trade deals with Colombia and Panama should gain approval this year along with the South Korea trade pact. His comments coincide with an uptick in pressure to set timelines on the trade deals.

Colombia and China may partner to build a 137-mile railway linking the Andean country’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The “dry canal” project fuels speculation that Colombia is looking beyond the United States for trade opportunities.