OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20508
USTR PRESS RELEASES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE USTR WEBSITE AT www.USTR.GOV
2004-35
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: RICHARD MILLS/NEENA MOORJANI
May 3, 2004 (202) 395-3230
Peru and Ecuador to Join With Colombia in May 18-19 Launch of FTA
Negotiations With the United States
WASHINGTON -The United States announced today that Peru and Ecuador will
join with Colombia in the first round of negotiations on a U.S.-Andean
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) scheduled for May 18-19. The FTA
negotiations were scheduled to begin with Colombia alone, pending the
resolution of certain issues with respect to Peru and Ecuador, which
have now been addressed. The U.S. hopes to include Bolivia at a later
stage, and is working with Bolivian officials to prepare.
"The United States has been busy completing top-notch FTAs with our
neighbors in the hemisphere, so we are delighted that the Andean
countries want to work with us to remove barriers for our farmers,
workers, exporters and businesses," Zoellick said. "The inclusion of
Peru and Ecuador in the negotiation will expand benefits beyond the
U.S.-Colombia relationship. Our Andean friends rightly view a cutting
edge FTA with the U.S. as a key component in their economic growth and
reform plans, and we see the FTA as a great way to open markets and
opportunities while supporting developing democracies in our neighborhood."
In his November 18, 2003 letter notifying Congress of the
Administration's intent to negotiate a U.S.-Andean FTA, United States
Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick indicated that the U.S. would
initiate negotiations with the countries that have demonstrated their
readiness to begin. The Peruvian Government has recently resolved
certain outstanding disputes with U.S. investors and has taken
significant steps to resolve others. Similarly, the Ecuadorian
Government has taken important steps to address certain concerns
regarding the protection of worker rights and has resolved certain
investor disputes. There remains work to be done in order for all
outstanding issues to be completely resolved. The U.S. Government will
continue to work with Peru and Ecuador to follow through on these
matters as the negotiations proceed.
In order to spur economic growth in Peru and Ecuador, the United States
today also announced that the board of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) has approved, subject to notification to Congress by
OPIC, a $54 million loan for a micro-financing initiative in the Andean
countries and several others. The loan will help recipients -
particularly women - get a start in small business and promote economic
development. This short-term assistance, when coupled with the benefits
created by the FTAs, will help to expand U.S. access and opportunities
in these growing markets.
Zoellick led the U.S. delegation for the inauguration of Alejandro
Toledo as President of Peru in July 2001, and in November 2002 he
visited Ecuador for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Ministerial.
In 2003, U.S. goods exports to Ecuador were $1.4 billion. The stock of
foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ecuador in 2002 was $1.1 billion. In
2003, U.S. goods exports to Peru were $1.7 billion. The stock of foreign
direct investment (FDI) in Peru in 2002 was $3.2 billion. The four
Andean countries collectively represent a market of over $7 billion for
U.S. exports, and are home to over $8 billion in U.S. foreign direct
investment.
Background:
On March 15, 2004, the United States completed FTA market access
negotiations with the Dominican Republic. It will be added to the
recently concluded CAFTA. The U.S. has completed FTAs with eight
countries - Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Australia and Morocco - over the past few months.
New and pending FTA partners, taken together, would constitute America's
third largest export market and the sixth largest economy in the world.
The United States is aggressively working to open markets globally,
regionally, and bilaterally and to expand American opportunities in
overseas markets. In a January 2004 letter to the 146 WTO members,
Zoellick urged Members to revive the global trade talks. In February
Zoellick traveled over 30,000 miles and met with over 40 WTO members in
strategic consultations. Immediately following that trip, Zoellick
traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica for meetings February 23-24 with
ministers from the Cairns Group of agriculture exporting countries to
discuss liberalizing trade in agriculture within ongoing World Trade
Organization (WTO) trade negotiations.
In addition to the global efforts, a top goal for the U.S. is the FTAA
negotiation to create a $13 trillion, 800 million person Western
Hemispheric free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
Comprehensive, high-quality agreements that promote regional economic
integration (Chile, CAFTA) with like-minded, ambitious trading partners,
complement and provide impetus for the FTAA negotiations. The United
States is also currently negotiating an FTA with Panama.
