Colombia is eager for the trade deal, and it has made some progress on human rights.
Progress on human rights would come, he insisted, but not because of pressure from abroad.
He even admitted that China had to make progress on human rights.
The United States has been withholding $100 million in aid to Colombia unless it makes progress on human rights cases.
We are left with a contradiction: progress on human development is now being threatened by the deterioration of our environment.
Colombia has a courageous government that is making progress on human rights while battling terrorists; it needs the economic support.
Ministers are also eager to see if aid should be more dependent on issues such as progress on human rights, free press and equal treatment of gay people.
Mr. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, added, "This certification has more to do with the fact that U.S. aid was running out, than with sufficient progress on human rights".
In pre-trial letters, Leigh Day asked what mechanisms DfID had for assessing or measuring progress on human rights against the partnership principles.
"In a country that is developing very fast... there is unstoppable momentum there toward greater political freedom, progress on human rights," he said.
But the American ambassador to Vietnam, David Shear, has said the country needs to show "demonstrable progress" on human rights to help kindle support for TPP in America.
