The House of Representatives passed by voice vote Feb. 27 a bill extending the Andean Trade Preference Act through Dec. 31. It is unclear whether the Senate will act on the bill (H.R. 5264) before ATPA preferences for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru expire Feb. 29. If the program expires before it is reauthorized, it is likely that provision will be made for retroactive refunds.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a bipartisan congressional delegation that recently returned from visiting Ecuador and Bolivia submitted letters to House members earlier this week urging them to approve the ATPA extension. The Chamber’s letter argued that moving quickly to extend the program before it expires will help avoid trade disruption and job loss pending the entry into force of the Peru free trade agreement and congressional consideration of the Colombia FTA.
Both the Chamber and the lawmakers also pointed out that while discussion on the ATPA often centers on the Andean countries, this program also benefits U.S. businesses by allowing them to import duty-free components and materials as well as labor-intensive consumer goods that generally do not compete directly with U.S. products. For example, the Chamber noted, the cut flower industry employs approximately 100,000 Colombians directly and an additional 90,000 indirectly, but 225,000 U.S. jobs, largely in the transportation, distribution and retail industries, depend on imports of Colombian flowers as well. The U.S. textile industry also benefits from the ATPA, the five House members added. Yarns, fabrics, fibers and other textile inputs are exported from the U.S. to the Andean region, where they are incorporated into finished garments eligible for duty-free treatment when they are exported back to the U.S.
World Trade/Interactive
