Andean Trade Benefits Extension a Political Football

Duty-free trade benefits provided to Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru under the Andean Trade Partnership Act (ATPA) are set to expire at the end of June. While the Bush Administration and key House Democrats back an extension for all four countries, some members of Congress have argued against any extension for countries that have not signed a trade agreement with the U.S. (i.e., Bolivia and Ecuador, whose presidents were elected in part due to their opposition to free trade).

ATPA provides duty-free trade benefits to certain exports from the region, including cut-flowers. ATPA benefits are by law conditioned on the exporting country taking steps to improve respect for worker rights. Ecuador has been under an ATPA worker rights review by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) since petitions filed by USLEAP, Human Rights Watch, and the AFL-CIO in 2003 were accepted by USTR. Ecuador has so far failed to take the steps to improve respect for worker rights, expecially a reform of its labor code.