For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 23, 2002
Fact Sheet
Andean Trade Preference Act
"Open Trade and Investment Bring Healthy, Growing Economies, and Can Serve
the cause of democratic reform.... I ask the Senate to schedule a vote,
as soon as it returns, on renewing and expanding the Andean Trade
Preference Act."
President George W. Bush
Organization of American States
January 16, 2002
President Bush is committed to the renewal and expansion of the
Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA), and renews his call on the Senate
to bring ATPA to a vote as soon as possible.
Objectives: ATPA was signed into law in
1991. It provides the beneficiary countries of Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador and Peru duty-free access to the U.S. market for a
wide range of products. ATPA promotes economic alternatives
to drug-crop production in the Andean region, helps build the economies
of our regional trading partners, and strengthens democracy and
regional stability by giving governments tools to fight
narco-terrorism.
Program Success: Since the initiation of ATPA, two-way
trade between the U.S. and the ATPA countries has doubled. U.S. exports
to ATPA countries have increased 75 percent in dollar terms, with many
of these exports serving as inputs to ATPA-qualifying
products. United States imports from ATPA countries have
more than doubled, helping to create approximately 140,000 new,
legitimate jobs in the region. This economic incentive
helped boost alternative development and drug crop eradication
programs, resulting in the elimination of over 1 million acres of coca
between 1995 and 2000.
Status: ATPA expired on December 4, 2001. A
bill to renew and expand the program has passed the House; a similar
bill is pending a vote in the Senate. On February 15, 2002,
the Administration implemented a 90-day deferral on the collection of
duties that were formerly covered under the ATPA to mitigate the
financial impact of the lapse on affected businesses.
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