The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) is a

trade preference A trade preference is a preference by one country for buying goods from some other country more than from other countries. It grants special support to one country over another. It is the opposite of a trade prohibition. For example, the Agreemen ...

system by which the United States grants duty-free access to a wide range of exports from four Andean countries:

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It was enacted on October 31, 2002 as a replacement for the similar Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA). The purpose of this preference system is to foster economic development in the Andean countries to provide alternatives to

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...

production. Bolivia has installed capacity to industrialize coca production and its derivatives, since coca has no narcotic effects, but the United States does not make any difference between coca and cocaine. Thus, the U.S. government eliminated this "preference".

History

On December 4, 1991, under the

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

administration, the United States enacted the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), eliminating

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

s on a number of products from

, and

. Its objective was the strengthening of legal industries in these countries as alternatives to drug production and trafficking. The program was renewed on October 31, 2002 by the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

administration as the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). Under the renewed act, Andean products exempted from tariffs increased from around 5,600 to some 6,300. ATPDEA was set to expire on December 31, 2006, but was renewed by Congress for six months, up to June 30, 2007. An extension was granted on June 28, 2007, this time for eight months, until February 29, 2008. The U.S. Congress passed a third renewal for ten months on February 28, 2008, up to December 31, 2008. In November 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush asked Congress to remove Bolivia from the agreement due to failure to cooperate in counternarcotics efforts. On December 14, 2009, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension of such plan for a period of one year. The final version of the agreement, covering Ecuadorian products only, lapsed on July 31, 2013 after Ecuador became ineligible.

Impact

The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act has fostered rapid growth in trade between the United States and the four Andean nations; U.S. exports to the region rose from $6.46 billion in 2002 to $11.64 billion in 2006, while imports grew from $9.61 billion to $22.51 billion in the same period. As of 2006 main Andean exports to the United States under ATPDEA were oil, apparel, copper

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device such as a lead-acid battery. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. Conventional curren ...

s, cut flowers, gold jewelry,

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

, and sugar. Of the 2006 total of U.S. imports under ATPDEA, Ecuador accounted for 39%, Colombia for 36%, Peru for 24%, and Bolivia for 1%. According to a September 2006 report by the

United States International Trade Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It was created by Congress in 1916 as the U.S. Tari ...

, ATPDEA has had a negative effect on the U.S. economy and consumers as well as a small positive effect on drug-crop reduction and export-related job creation in the Andean region. A 2006 report by the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

stated that ATPDEA does not appear to have had a negative impact on U.S. employment with the possible exception of some sectors of the

cut flower industry Cut flowers are flowers and flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is removed from the plant for decorative use. Cut greens are leaves with or without stems added to the cut flowers for con ...

.USTR, , p. 5–6. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.

Notes

Bibliography

* Office of the United States Trade Representative.
New Andean Trade Benefits
'. September 25, 2002. * Office of the United States Trade Representative. , January 31, 2001. * Office of the United States Trade Representative. . April 30, 2007. * Reuters
Congress extends Andean trade benefits 10 months
February 28, 2008. * Reuters
US Senate OKs 8-month Andean trade pact extension
June 28, 2007. * The White House.

'. October 31, 2002.

External links

*
Colombian Ministry of Trade site on the ATPDEA
* {{in lang, es}

Economy of Bolivia Foreign trade of Colombia Economy of Ecuador Foreign trade of Peru United States federal trade legislation

History

Impact

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links