CITA GIVES A NOD: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, a multiagency U.S. government group, published an approval of a short-supply request on Friday filed by a Colombian importer under the Andean Trade Promotion & Drug Eradication Act. The preferential import law largely requires that U.S. textiles be used in order to receive duty-free status. But it allows garments made of non-U.S. materials to qualify for duty-free status if the materials are not commercially available in the U.S. The approval of the petition filed by Encajes S.A., which uses the yarn primarily for the production of laces in Bogota, follows a visit by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe two weeks ago. Uribe was here seeking additional aid to fight drug trafficking, as well as a free-trade agreement with the U.S., negotiations for which will begin next month.