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The Impact of the Andean Trade Preference Act Twelfth ... - USITC

The Impact of the Andean Trade Preference Act Twelfth ... - USITC

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enefits becomes more evident to Ecuadorian investors, <strong>the</strong>re is increasing discussion <strong>of</strong>managing <strong>the</strong>se losses by subsidizing Ecuadorian exports to <strong>the</strong> United States. 334 AlthoughEcuador’s climate allows higher quality flowers to be grown than in Colombia, Ecuadoriangrowers also face higher costs, such as for transportation. <strong>The</strong> industry is also concerned thatmuch <strong>of</strong> Ecuador’s flower industry will shift to Colombia if Ecuador loses ATPA benefitsand Colombia implements a free trade agreement with <strong>the</strong> United States.Peru<strong>The</strong> government continues to pursue a coca reduction and elimination policy through forcederadication (in locations such as state parks) as well as a voluntary eradication policyundertaken by willing municipalities in exchange for alternative development benefits.Despite <strong>the</strong>se efforts, recent reports point to increases in net coca cultivation in Peru in2005. 335Net coca cultivation in Peru is estimated to have increased some 38 percent, from 27,500hectares in 2004 (its all-time low) to approximately 38,000 hectares in 2005, according to<strong>the</strong> U.S. Office <strong>of</strong> National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). 336 <strong>The</strong> ONDCP estimate reportedthat over one-third <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> increase was due to new coca plantings in nontraditional growingareas in Peru that were not surveyed in 2004. 337 Record high prices for coca leaf contributedto <strong>the</strong> increase, as well as armed attacks against coca eradication teams, which slowederadication efforts. 338 According to <strong>the</strong> U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> State, coca growers (cocaleros)located in rural valleys in Peru have become better organized and increasingly violent,including ambushing police and intimidating alternative development teams, in particularin <strong>the</strong> distant mountainous valleys where antigovernment guerrilla forces were once active. 339334U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> State electronic mail communication, “<strong>USITC</strong> Information Request,” prepared byPaul R. Baldwin, U.S. Embassy, Quito, received June 29, 2006.335U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> State, INCSR 2006, pp. 116-119.336 U.S. Office <strong>of</strong> National Drug Control Policy, ONDCP Public Affairs, “U.S. Releases 2005 PeruvianCoca Cultivation Estimate,” press release, Feb. 10, 2006, found athttp://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press06/021006.html, retrieved Apr. 6, 2006.337ONDCP, “2005 Peruvian Coca Cultivation Estimate,” Feb. 10, 2006. According to <strong>the</strong> U.S.Department <strong>of</strong> State, Peru surpassed its 2005 coca eradication goals, but increased coca plantings none<strong>the</strong>lessoutstripped Peru's eradication efforts. As <strong>of</strong> March 2006, <strong>the</strong> Government <strong>of</strong> Peru's national drug controlagency, Devida, was accepting as accurate <strong>the</strong> June 2005 UN Office <strong>of</strong> Drugs and Crimes estimate <strong>of</strong> 50,000hectares <strong>of</strong> coca under cultivation in Peru. See U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> State, INCSR 2006, pp. 11-12. <strong>The</strong> U.S.Government and <strong>the</strong> United Nations employ different survey methodologies to arrive at <strong>the</strong>ir estimates,which in turn yield different final results, although both sets <strong>of</strong> estimates are roughly parallel over time. Anadditional complication can arise with <strong>the</strong> July 2005 revision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial U.S. Government cultivation andproduction estimates for coca in <strong>the</strong> Andes from 2000 through 2004. See CNC, Major Illicit-Drug-ProducingNations – Cultivation and Production Estimates, 2000-04, July 2005; United Nations, Office <strong>of</strong> Drugs andCrime, Coca Cultivation in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Andean</strong> Region, June 2006; Devida, “Devida Alerta: Hay un PeligrosoAumento de Cultivo de Hoja de Coca,” Mar. 28, 2005, found athttp://www.devida.gob.pe/Modulos/Noticia/DetalleNoticia.asp?Cod=244, retrieved Mar. 30, 2005; Devida,“Cultivos de Coca Se Incrementaron a 48 Mil 600 Hectares en 2005,” press release, Mar. 30, 2005, found athttp://www.devida.gob.pe/Modulos/Noticia/DetalleNoticia.asp? Cod=212, retrieved Mar. 30, 2005; andUSTR, Second Report to <strong>the</strong> Congress on <strong>the</strong> Operation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Andean</strong> <strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Preference</strong> <strong>Act</strong> as Amended,Apr. 30, 2005, p. 48.338ONDCP, “2005 Peruvian Coca Cultivation Estimate,” Feb. 10, 2006.339 U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> State, INCSR 2006, pp. 11-12.4-11

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