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WASHINGTON, DC
- U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab today expressed appreciation
for action in Congress passing and President George W. Bush signing legislation
to extend the Andean Trade Preference Act:
“I appreciate action by Congress and the President in
extending Andean trade preferences for eight months. This preference
program has helped alleviate poverty and created economic opportunities for
citizens of developing countries and strengthened our economic and political
relationships with those countries.
“I want to thank Chairman Rangel, Ranking Member McCrery,
Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley for their leadership on this and other
trade issues. I look forward to working with them on the passage of the
Peru and Colombia trade
agreements during this extension period. The trade agreements offer
important opportunities to further strengthen the United States’
trade relationship with these Andean countries and provide duty-free access to
these markets for American businesses, farmers and ranchers.”
Background:
In
1991, the U.S. Congress authorized duty-free benefits for four Andean nations
(Colombia,
Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia) under
ATPA to help in their fight against illegal drug production and trafficking by
expanding their economic opportunities. As part of the Trade Act of 2002,
Congress renewed and enhanced the trade preferences for all four countries under
the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), which expired on
December 31, 2006. Before its expiration last December, Congress
passed a six month extension to June 30, 2007.
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