Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act
Encyclopedia
Trade Preference
A Trade Preference is when one country prefers buying goods from some other country more than it would from other countries. It grants special support to one country over another. It is the opposite of a Trade Prohibition.-See also:*Trade Mandate...
system by which the United States grants duty-free access to a wide range of exports from four Andean countries: Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. 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 cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
production.
History
On December 4, 1991, under the George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
administration, the United States enacted the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), eliminating tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s on a number of products from Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. 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 W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
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. A further extension was granted on June 28, 2007, this time for eight months, up to February 29, 2008. The US Congress passed a third renewal for ten months on February 28, 2008, up to December 31, 2008. On November 2008, US 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. On February 12, 2011, the US Senate did not renew the plan and it is currently expired.
Impact
The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act has fostered a rapid growth in trade between the United States and the four Andean nations; US exports to the region rose from $6,463.8 million in 2002 to $11,636.5 million in 2006 while imports grew from $9,611.5 million to $22,510.6 million in the same period. As of 2006 main Andean exports to the United States under ATPDEA were oil, apparel, copper cathodes, cut flowers, gold jewelry, asparagus and sugar. Of the 2006 total of US 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 CommissionUnited States International Trade Commission
The United States International Trade Commission is an independent, bi-partisan, quasi-judicial, federal agency of the United States that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches. Further, the agency determines the impact of imports on U.S...
, ATPDEA has had a negligible effect on the US 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
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
stated that ATPDEA does not appear to have had a negative impact on US employment with the possible exception of some sectors of the cut flower industry.
See also
- Colombia Trade Promotion AgreementColombia Trade Promotion AgreementThe United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement , is a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia. Sometimes called the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, it was signed on November 22, 2006, by Deputy U.S...
- United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement