BUENOS AIRES, August 17. /TASS/. The government of Colombia started negotiations with the US on amending the terms of the free trade agreement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Wednesday.

"I want to publicly announce that the negotiations on amendment [of the agreement] begin," the president said during the meeting with coffee producers, aired by the presidential administration on the X social platform.

According to Petro, the agreement in its current state prevents the country from developing its own agriculture.

"Today, we import almost all corn from the US and Canada, this was the economy policy. Should we replace it with corn grown in Colombia, we’d have 1.2 million more jobs. […] Why can’t I do that? Because it is prohibited by the free trade agreement with the US, signed several years ago," he said.

"What we experience now is a crisis of this model," the head of state believes.

The free trade agreement between Colombia and the US entered into effect in May, 2012.