Update on Free Trade Agreements With Latin America
 
January 24, 2002
 

President Bush has announced that the United States will explore a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the countries of Central America. Bush also said that the administration plans to conclude an FTA with Chile early this year. President Bush used the occasion of these announcements to urge Congress to pass trade promotion authority (TPA), which permits the administration to submit to Congress implementing legislation for a trade deal for a straight up or down vote with no amendments. TPA was passed by the House December 6, 2001, but the Senate has yet to pass it. Passage of TPA is also viewed as crucial to the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), which will create a free trade area for the countries in the western hemisphere, with the exclusion of Cuba. President Bush also urged the Senate to schedule a vote on renewing and expanding the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) as soon as Congress returns from recess. The ATPA, which expired on December 4, 2001, creates special trade preferences for the four Andean nations of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. The House already has passed a proposal to renew ATPA and to expand its benefits to items that were excluded under the original bill, including textile and apparel products. A similar ATPA renewal and expansion measure is still pending in the Senate.