President Bush, as expected, signed a bill that will extend trade benefits for Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador until Dec. 31. The four Andean nations are part of a U.S. trade preference program giving duty-free status to apparel made in the region and exported to the United States. Bush signed the bill Feb. 29, the day the program was due to expire. Textile producers in the U.S., who export millions of dollars of fabric and yarns to the region, also benefit from the program because the rules require that U.S. importers largely use American-made fiber, fabrics and yarns in the apparel they make in the four countries. Importers and some domestic textile firms will turn their focus now to urging Congress to pass a bilateral free trade agreement with Colombia, which would make the duty benefits permanent. They face an uphill battle because most Democratic leaders oppose a permanent trade deal with Colombia in the wake of assassinations of trade unionists in that country.
Journal of Commerce
