Colombia in the Proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas

This research attempts an exploratory inquiry to view, identify, and foresee trends where the forthcoming Summit of the Americas may depart as a dynamic agent that will determine the transformation of developing economies in the Western Hemisphere. We launched this proposition based on a comparison research where we observed the dynamics of the "path dependence" course on trade expansion based on selected initial conditions. This transformation followed a long term both in the world-system and in trade specializing countries like Colombia, allowing us to compare a broad historical event with the initiating Summit of the Americas Hemispheric integration. In some detail we examine what the Colombian strategic position would be according to dependent paths and showing negotiation scenarios like Andean Trade Preference Act-ATPA, Trade and Investment Commission-TIC and its relation with Plan Colombia and bloc to bloc negotiations. Colombia as an emerging country has seriously committed itself to integrate its economy to the trade world system. During the 19th century historical episode where Colombia emerged as a new nation-state competed for a place in a rapidly organizing world trading-system mainly in the profitable commodities market. This deep world historical episode serves us as a mile stone to compare and explore more in detail old and new initial conditions that contributed to enlarge world-trading currents and see how emerging countries face new investment currents trends and negotiation opportunities for investment. As the world political and economic system enlarged, complex conditions for substantiate democracy and improving people's welfare brought new negotiation patterns. Emerging trading bloc rules now depend on the advancement of globalization. Optimistic analyst suggest that convergent growth will be the direct consequence of integration of trading partners leading to accelerating regional and local development. Trade gains will according to this assumption will be evenly distributed among people and regions as economic integration proceeds