Congressman Rivera: We Must Extend the Andean Trade Preference Act

The House is voting today on whether to extend the Andean Trade Preference Act; a trade preference system that was originally enacted in 1991 to help four Andean countries--Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru--promote economic development through diversification of exports and duty-free access to American markets in an effort to fight drug trafficking and drug-crop production.

Currently Colombia, Ecuador and Peru still qualify for the system, and in 2009 the three countries represented a market of $16.7 billion dollars for U.S. exports.

The 111th Congress temporarily extended the act until February 12.

Congressman David Rivera (FL-25) supports the bill before the House today to extend the trade preference act until June 30, 2011 and recognizes that it is especially important in the case of Colombia.

"We must approve the extension of the Andean Trade Preference Act. It is critical to ensure economic stability in the region," Rivera said. "Colombia is especially in need of extending this agreement. Colombia has been hit hard with ongoing natural disasters and flooding that have left more than 300 dead and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged, and due to the La Niña system, heavy rains are expected to continue. Colombia is now undertaking the task of rebuilding homes, schools, businesses, hospitals and roads while taking on massive infrastructure projects to control flooding in the future. The ATPA will help Colombia maintain a stable and fully functioning economy which is necessary to avoid undoing the social, political and economic progress of recent years.

"Extending the ATPA is also a step in the right direction to keep trade avenues open with Colombia as we continue to work on approval of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. While 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the United States duty-free, in part because of the ATPA, American companies still pay tariffs for American goods to enter Colombia. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate trade obstacles and immediately boost U.S. exports to Colombia by roughly $2.5 billion and exports by over a billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States," concluded Rivera.

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