Global Economy and Free Trade Agreements

At the talk, organized by the Business Law Department, Beethoven Herrera will explain why the Colombian economy has experienced a sharp decline this year and how free trade agreements have impacted the global economy.

According to Eduardo Sarmiento, in his column “El Regazo de América Latina,” the economic imbalance the country is experiencing is a reflection of an economic policy that has gotten out of control.

By the end this year, Colombia’s inflation rate will be close to 4 percent, about three percentage points lower than last year.  However, controlling inflation with interest rates carries a high price; in 2017, the Colombian economy will grow only 1.6 percent. The country has suffered a strong economic downturn, states Miguel Gómez Martínez in his column in the Portafolio Journal. What if Sarmiento is right?

The Colombian economic model is falling consistently, says Herrera, and highlights the systematic increase in the trade balance deficit, since 2013.

The speaker will recount the international economic policy, with historical and social perspectives.