Carta a USTR

Embassy of Ecuador in the United States Washington D.C.

2012 GSP Annual Review HTS Nos.: 6115.21.00; 6115.30.90; 1604.14.10; 1604.14.30; 1604.14.40; 2005.99.80; 0710.80.97 22; 0710.80.97 24; 0710.80.97 26; 0603.11.00; 0804.30.40 Country: Ecuador

October 5, 2012

James Sanford Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Small Business, Market Access & Industrial Competitiveness Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 600 17th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20508 RE:

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Initiation of the 2012 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadlines for Filing Petitions

The Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador to the United States (Embassy) appreciates the opportunity to provide the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with its petition related to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) 2012 Annual Review.1 This letter supports the product petitions submitted by the private sector and the Government of Ecuador for certain Ecuadorian products such as fresh cut roses, broccoli, tuna, pantyhose and tights, pineapples, and artichokes ( HTS numbers: 6115.21.00; 6115.30.90; 1604.14.10; 1604.14.30; 1604.14.40; 2005.99.80; 0710.80.97 22; 0710.80.97 24; 0710.80.97 26; 0603.11.00; 0804.30.40).2 Particularly, this letter submits that the Ecuadorian products listed herein should be included in the GSP, for all beneficiary

See Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Initiation of the 2012 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadlines for Filing Petitions, 77 Fed. Reg. 44,704 (July 30, 2012).

2 Product petitions have been submitted to USTR by the following interested parties: the Government of Ecuador, La Associación de Productores y/o Exportadores de Flores del Ecuador (“EXPOFLORES”); Colour Republic, LLC (“Colour Republic”); Esmeralda Farms, Inc. (“Esmeralda Farms”); E. G. Hill Company (“E.G. Hill”); La Cámara Ecuatoriana de Industriales y Procesadores Atuneros (CEIPA); la Asociación de Productores Ecuatorianos de Frutas y Legumbres (ASOPROFEL); AMCHAM Ecuador; INAEXPO; and Industrias Generales Ecuatorianas (INGESA).

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Embassy of Ecuador in the United States Washington D.C.

developing countries, because of their tremendous impact in job creation and economic growth in Ecuador, as well as their positive effect in the U.S. economy.

Of note, these products are currently eligible for trade preferences under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA).3 Since it was established, ATPA has been essential in sustaining, diversifying, and increasing economic growth and job creation in Ecuador. ATPA supports thousands of jobs for farmers, transportation and distribution employees, and vendors and customers both in the United States and Ecuador. Moreover, ATPA provides more choices for U.S. consumers, who have recognized Ecuadorian products as having competitive prices and high quality, without substantially competing with U.S. products.

ATPA has also contributed to the strategic partnership between the United States and Ecuador regarding counternarcotics. Indeed, ATPA has helped “defeat the scourge of drug trafficking by providing sustainable economic alternatives to drug-crop production in beneficiary countries.”4 As noted in the most recent U.S. International Trade Commission report on the program, “[t]he number of hectares of alternative crops under cultivation has a direct relationship to job creation and income levels in targeted areas,”5 and Ecuador has had “better-than-expected results” in reducing drug production by generating licit employment and income opportunities through cultivation of ATPA products such as roses and broccoli.6 Ecuador is currently the only recipient of ATPA benefits. Further, ATPA is set to expire on July 31, 2013. As a result, “uncertainty over the future of ATPA trade preferences [has] discouraged investment in some sectors.”7 Nonetheless, the Government of Ecuador believes it is crucial to The Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) was reauthorized in 2011 by the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. 112-42 (Oct. 21, 2011).

4 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Sixth Report to the Congress on the Operation of the Andean Trade Preference Act as Amended (June 29, 2012), available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/reports-andpublications/2012/sixth-report-congress-ATPA. 5 U.S. International Trade Commission, Andean Trade Preference Act: Impact on U.S. Industries and Consumers and on Drug Crop Eradication and Crop Substitution, 2011 – Fifteenth Report (September 2012), available at http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4352.pdf (adding, “In 2011, coca cultivation in Ecuador remained insignificant, with authorities reporting eradication of small-scale coca and poppy cultivation amounting to 50,950 coca plants and 22,149 opium poppy plants.”).

6 Id. 7 Id. (noting, “rose growers are reluctant to make additional investments because of the uncertainties associated with the renewal of ATPA preferential treatment authority. One company reported replacing hectares of roses intended for the U.S. market with carnations for the Japanese market due to the uncertainties surrounding the future of ATPA. Other companies responding to the survey reported selling off flower farms and other assets, closing greenhouses to reduce the scope of their operations, and reducing employment. Companies producing pouched tuna for the U.S. market reported investments in 2011 that resulted in increased exports to the United States, but also reported that other investments were delayed because of the uncertainty over the future of ATPDEA preferences. In the plywood sector, one company reported that it stopped manufacturing plywood for the U.S. market in 2010 […]”).

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maintain trade preferences for certain Ecuadorian products, which have helped generate honest jobs in the United States and Ecuador, growing the economy and curbing drug production and drug trafficking in the region.8 Thus, the private sector and the Government of Ecuador are seeking GSP eligibility for certain Ecuadorian products to ensure that they can continue competing with similar products exported to the United States (under other trade preference programs), lest ATPA were to expire.

The GSP petitions presented to USTR on October 5, 2012 regarding certain Ecuadorian products provide detailed information regarding the positive impact that GSP eligibility would have on U.S. and Ecuadorian jobs and economic growth. As such, the Government of Ecuador strongly supports and respectfully requests that each of these petitions be considered for GSP eligibility during USTR’s 2012 GSP Annual Review.

Sincerely,

Nathalie Cely Ambassador of Ecuador to the United States

The Department of State reports that Ecuador remains plagued by drug trafficking activities. Although Ecuador is located between two major drug production countries, the country has been able to limit drug production with the help of ATPA. See U.S. Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (March 2012), available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/187109.pdf.

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