After years of procrastination, the US Senate is expected finally to sign off the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia - the House has already voted in favour.
Don't listen to the misguided voices against it, the FTA is an important and necessary step - both for Colombia and for the US.
While for Colombia the advantages of privileged access to the largest market in the world are obvious, the FTA is - for this website - of even greater importance to the US.
Failure to sign the agreement on the part of the US would represent an economic and diplomatic retraction in a key emerging market in a region of strategic geopolitical importance.
Economically the US is already in retreat in the continent. Chinese investment in Latin America continues to rise - exponentially. If the US doesn't act China will soon become the major economic force in the region.
But the agreement is about more than just trade and the economy. The FTA is also crucial for US foreign policy. There are signs the US' influence in the South is on the wane. Given Colombia is the US' closest ally in the region, the failure to deepen ties with the country would represent extreme negligence, and accelerate its diplomatic decline.
This is not a time for the US to rest on its laurels.
The economic necessity
The FTA will increase US exports by over 1 billion dollars. It will create thousands of new jobs, and help stimulate an economy in the doldrums.
Colombian is one of Latin America's fasting growing import markets. In 2010 imports rose to 41 billion dollars. But the US is not taking advantage of this. In fact the US's share of this market is retreating, and fast. In 1999, US products represented 37 per cent of the total imports to Colombia. But by 2010 this had fallen to 26 per cent. This while China's imports have risen six fold over the last ten years - and 47 per cent in the last year alone. China is now Colombia's second largest trade partner; it is threatening in the coming years to overtake the US.
Colombia's economic star is rising. As reported on this website last month, the World Bank and the IMF have both given the country glowing reports, while the credit rating agencies have awarded it investment grade status.While economies across the world struggle, Colombia's GDP will increase by over 5 per cent this year.
So it's little surprise that the competition to invest in the country is heating up - free trade agreements with the EU and with South Korea should be in force next year, while the agreement with Canada is already active.
The US economy is retreating. Sitting back and watching others benefit from privileged access to the emerging markets on her doorstep is a luxury Washington cannot afford. The US will act today out of necessity.
The political necessity
Latin America has endured a history of instability. Democracy is has not been ubiquitous, dictatorships and military leaders have been as visible as elected presidents. Colombia is a stable democracy, representing the values the US wishes to project. She must be supported.
Two of Colombia's neighbours, Venezuela and Ecuador represent an anti-American socialism that seeks to replace the free-market and individual liberalism of the Washington consensus with a distorted idea of state-control Bolivarianism.
Should the US' - and other Western democracies' - influence continue to decline, the authoritarian regimes of Chavez and Correa, emboldened, will see their potency to tip the balance of power in the region in favour of the Bolivarian revolutionist movement increase. Chavez has cultivated friendships with Iran, China and Russia - Latin American democrats will not forgive the US for allowing Chavez's attempts to replay the Cold War to bear further fruit.
Colombia - alongside Chile and Peru - are the standard bearers for a more liberal politics in South America (the election of Humala earlier this year in Peru has put the future of that country in doubt, however). Promoting the principles of free-trade through active agreements reinforces the liberal democratic counterweight to threat of a potential Caracas consensus.
FTA - an unavoidable decision
The FTA to be signed today is part of Colombia's emergence as an important world economy. It will create new jobs and business opportunities as well as increase the spending power of the average family.
But the reality is Colombia is no longer reliant on the US. While the US has been inexplicably coy - taking years to consummate the trade marriage to one of her closest allies - Colombian President Santos has been busy forming other economic alliances. He has successfully positioned the country as an attractive investment opportunity for Europeans and Asians alike.
Despite concerns about the protection of union workers in Colombia, despite protectionist views in the US Democrat party, and despite the fear in Colombia that certain parts of the economy are not ready to trade on an level playing field with the US, the FTA is ultimately an opportunity the US can not afford to allow pass by - economically and politically.