Are thousands of Bolivian jobs at stake?
Today, a Bolivian delegation made up of prominent government officials and business leaders is in Washington. They will testify in a public hearing hosted by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) about the economic benefits of the Andean Trade Preferences and Drug Elimination Act (ATPDEA), an arrangement that gives several Bolivian products preferential access to the U.S. market. The Bush administration suspended Bolivia’s ATPDEA trade preferences in late September, dealing a potential blow to the country’s economy. The Bolivian delegates are making the case for the U.S. program’s importance for alternative development in coca-growing regions, and job creation nationwide. They are also seeking to defend the Bolivian government’s counternarcotics program, which the Bush administration, in a September “de-certification” decision, determined does not meet its standard for full cooperation toward anti-drug goals. The delegation is led by Bolivian Treasury Minister Luis Arce and Vic
