New Atlanta Firm Aims to Promote Trade with Colombia

Cesar Felipe Gonzalez, Colombian Consul General in Atlanta in 1999-2003 who has been granted temporary permission by his country’s government to work independently in the United States for two years, has formed a company to introduce Atlanta firms to potential Colombian partners. He is also reactivating the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.

As president of the Colombian chamber here and president of the new company, Global Alliance Enterprise Inc., Mr. Gonzalez aims to facilitate two-way trade between Georgia and Colombia.

Through the chamber, Global Alliance is working with Colombia’s largest business association, the National Federation of Businesspersons, or Federacion Nacional de Comerciantes (FENALCO), which has some 15,000 members.

“The Colombian chamber here will be a liaison between companies in Atlanta and Colombia that will open doors here for the products of FENALCO members,” Mr. Gonzalez told GlobalAtlanta in an interview at the new Global Alliance offices in Dunwoody.

Mr. Gonzalez will also inform businesspersons in Colombia about opportunities in Atlanta created by pending free trade agreements, including a bilateral U.S.-Colombia agreement and the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement.

“We will be working to prepare entrepreneurs here and in Colombia to assimilate into the FTAA and to take advantage of the U.S. free trade agreement with Colombia,” he added.

U.S.-Colombia free trade negotiations are scheduled to begin May 18-19.

FENALCO’s representative here, Carlos Olarte, is an immigration attorney with Traylor & Olarte LLP, a law firm that will assist Global Alliance with bringing Colombian companies to Georgia.

Global Alliance offers Colombian companies assistance with finding facilities in Georgia, financing investments here, attending trade shows and events, representing their products in Georgia markets and other business services.

Global Alliance, with help from the Atlanta Colombian chamber, will be taking an Atlanta delegation to Colombia in August for a trade mission to meet with FENALCO companies. Look for details in upcoming issues of GlobalAtlanta.

For more information, contact Mr. Gonzalez at (770) 912-0903.