(Inter American Dialogue, 25/10/06)

The Bush administration will ask Congress to extend trade benefits to Andean nations that expire at the end of this year, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said Tuesday, according to Reuters. "Our government has decided to ask our Congress for a continuation of the Andean trade preferences act, which we think has been very beneficial for the countries of this region," Burns told reporters during a trip to Bogota for discussions with the government of President Alvaro Uribe.

US trade benefits for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru under the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act are set to expire at the end of this year. The US has negotiated free trade agreements with Colombia and Peru that would lock in the trade preferences, but Congress is not expected to vote on those trade pacts until next year.

Burns said the continuation of trade benefits would include Ecuador and Bolivia even though those two countries have not negotiated free trade agreements with the US.

Burns also said Tuesday that the Bush administration was committed to maintaining US aid to Colombia's military and counterdrug programs at around the current $600 million
a year at least for the next two years, according to Reuters.

"The United States intends to continue its strong support for Colombia, financially and politically, over the next several years," Burns said. US officials have said recently that aid to Colombia should be gradually reduced as Colombian authorities take over more duties, according to the Associated Press. US lawmakers have questioned the effectiveness of the US-backed counterdrug program in Colombia, especially following a recent survey that found coca production in the Andean nation rose 26 percent in 2005.