Ecuador<strong>The</strong> growth rate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ecuadorian economy dropped steeply to 3.0 percent in 2005 from 6.9percent in 2004, reflecting in part <strong>the</strong> country’s ongoing political turmoil, 107 but mainlyreflecting a slowdown in <strong>the</strong> expansion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> petroleum sector that began immediately after<strong>the</strong> second pipeline opened in 2003. Even so, owing to high world prices <strong>of</strong> petroleum,Ecuador realized a 25-percent increase in its overall imports. 108U.S. exports to Ecuador increased 17 percent from 2004, to $1.7 billion. Ecuador was <strong>the</strong>destination <strong>of</strong> 19 percent <strong>of</strong> all U.S. exports to ATPA countries in 2005, as well as in 2004(table 2-13 and figure 2-5). Thirty-five percent <strong>of</strong> such exports consisted <strong>of</strong> machinery,equipment, and parts, but heavy petroleum oils were <strong>the</strong> number one U.S. export product tothat country. U.S. exports <strong>of</strong> heavy petroleum to Ecuador soared by 189 percent in 2005,driven in part by higher prices. O<strong>the</strong>r notable developments included significant increasesin U.S. exports to Ecuador <strong>of</strong> transmission and reception apparatus and <strong>of</strong> automotivevehicles and parts. On <strong>the</strong> negative side, U.S. exports to Ecuador <strong>of</strong> plastics and paperproducts declined in 2005. In addition, Ecuador’s market for U.S. cereals, which expanded84 percent in 2004, shrunk 27 percent in 2005.Bolivia<strong>The</strong> Bolivian economy grew 4 percent in 2005, <strong>the</strong> same rate as in 2004. <strong>The</strong> strength <strong>of</strong>Bolivia’s hydrocarbon sector mitigated <strong>the</strong> adverse effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> country’s continuedpolitical uncertainty on foreign investment. Bolivia’s imports expanded by some 26percent. 109 In 2004, <strong>the</strong> last year for which data are available, <strong>the</strong> United States was <strong>the</strong> thirdlargest supplier <strong>of</strong> Bolivia’s imports after Brazil and Argentina, accounting for only 14percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total.In 2005, U.S. exports to Bolivia amounted to $186 million, 5 percent more than in 2004(table 2-13). Bolivia’s relatively small share in <strong>the</strong> ATPA market for U.S. exports continuedto diminish to 2.1 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total in 2005. In 2001, this share was 3.2 percent. Forty-fivepercent <strong>of</strong> all U.S. exports to Bolivia consisted <strong>of</strong> machinery, equipment, and parts, destinedin part for use in <strong>the</strong> country’s natural gas fields.Motor vehicles and parts accounted for 9 percent <strong>of</strong> all U.S. exports to Bolivia in 2005; <strong>the</strong>group contained major shipments (valued at some $10 million) <strong>of</strong> special-purpose vehicles.Such exports were negligible in prior years.Jewelry accounted for some 8 percent <strong>of</strong> U.S. exports to Bolivia, consisting largely <strong>of</strong> U.S.-made jewelry components (gold chains, ropes, and clasps) to be assembled into whole pieces(e.g., necklaces and bracelets) for reexport to <strong>the</strong> United States and exports to third countries.107 Lucio Gutierrez, Ecuador’s president, who was removed in April 2005, has become <strong>the</strong> third presidentsince 1997 to be removed before <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> his term. Alfredo Palacio, <strong>the</strong> current president, is expected toserve until January 2007.108 EIU, Country Report, Ecuador, Apr. 2006, found at http://www.eiu.com, retrieved May 12, 2006.United Nations, Economic Commission for Latin America and <strong>the</strong> Caribbean (ECLAC), PreliminaryOverview <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Economies <strong>of</strong> Latin America and <strong>the</strong> Caribbean, 2005, Dec. 2005, p. 113. Data cited fromthis source are preliminary.109 EIU, Country Report, Bolivia, Apr. 2006, found at http://www.eiu.com, retrieved May 12, 2006.2-32
U.S.-Bolivian two-way trade in gold jewelry increased in 2005; U.S. imports rose by 22percent, and U.S. exports rose 24 percent from 2004. This growing two-way trade reflects,in part, expanded assembly operations located in Bolivia and financed by U.S. and Europeaninvestment. 110 U.S. exports to Bolivia <strong>of</strong> cereals, mostly wheat, which had declined in 2004by 25 percent, dropped again by 39 percent in 2005.110James Marquart, President and Chief Executive Officer, MJSA, telephone interview with <strong>USITC</strong> staff,May 25, 2005.2-33
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