Free Trade Agreement of Bolivia

A major point of contention was the so-called “data exclusivity”. This term refers to an additional period of patent protection granted for trial data, in particular data on medicines and agrochemicals. The U.S. wanted data exclusivity rules in a free trade agreement to protect pharmaceutical companies` research results for five years. (29) In this context, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has requested the US Government to withdraw the benefits of ATPDEA for Peru and Ecuador as they do not have data exclusivity laws. (30) Oxfam, a development and aid organisation, argued: “Guaranteeing exclusive rights to pharmaceutical data leads to delays and restricts generic competition when the patent has expired or a compulsory licence has been granted. (31) The Andean countries rejected the rules on data exclusivity, arguing that the additional period prevented generics from entering the market and thus harmed the poor. On November 18, 2003, USTR Zoellick officially informed Congress of the government`s intention to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. A press release accompanying the notice said the government planned to begin negotiations in the second quarter of 2004, initially with Colombia and Peru, and that the United States would work with Ecuador and Bolivia “to include them in the agreement as well.” (5) 10. The Bolivian economy is vulnerable to international crises due to its dependence on commodity exports (80% of total exports), its strong demand for imports of capital goods and raw materials and its need for external financing. Despite this vulnerability, the country was not affected by the Mexican crisis or by the rise in international interest rates in 1994. Capital flows have not declined but, on the contrary, foreign direct investment has continued to rise and international reserves have continued their upward trend.

However, since the Asian crisis, the international environment has become less favourable and the Bolivian economy has felt the effects of the international crisis mainly through the fall in the prices of raw materials of the primary exporter, whose index fell by 12% between December 1996 and December 1998. The economic impact resulted in a decline in exports of about 5.4% per .b in 1998. This has led to an increase in the projected trade deficit for this year. However, the impact on economic growth was not significant, with economic activity increasing by 4.75% in 1998, in line with forecasts for the year. In November 2003, the administration informed Congress of its intention to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with four Andean countries – Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. The Communication states that a free trade agreement would eliminate and remove foreign barriers to trade and investment, support democracy and combat drug-related activity in the Andean region. Andean governments wanted to secure access to the U.S. market, especially since their current trade preferences will end at the end of 2006. In the United States, the business community has shown strong support for the trade deal, with workers opposing it, as has been the case with many free trade agreements, and agriculture has been divided. The thirteenth round of negotiations in Washington was supposed to be the last, but negotiators were unable to conclude talks on disagreements over intellectual property rights and agriculture.

Colombian and Ecuadorian negotiators said they withdrew because they could not accept the United States. Calls for stricter patent protection and a reduction in agricultural barriers, while Peruvian negotiators seemed more flexible. Peruvian negotiators have decided to continue talks with the United States without the other countries. The two countries reached an agreement in the first week of December 2005. (13) Bolivia participated in the negotiating meetings as an observer, but it was not expected to be a party to an agreement. The USTR said, “We want the door to stay open. but we must also recognize the realities,” noting that the Bolivian government has “fundamental problems of stability.” (12) In mid-June 2005, the President of Bolivia resigned due to widespread opposition to foreign participation in the extractive sectors and other policies, and an interim President took office. In the December 2005 elections, Bolivians elected Evo Morales as their president.

When Morales was sworn in on January 22, 2006, he began a five-year term as Bolivia`s fourth president since August 2002. On the 20th. In April 2005, during the ninth round of negotiations on a free trade agreement, the Ecuadorian Congress indicted Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez and replaced him with Vice-President Alfredo Palacio, a doctor and politically independent. Palacio is the country`s seventh president in nine years. 12. In 1998, there was a current account deficit mainly due to trade imbalances. This deficit was financed by long-term capital inflows, mainly foreign direct investment. Bolivia`s resource exports to all corners of the world and its lithium chloride reserves are the largest in the world.

Bolivia has a high level of regional trade, with $4.4 billion, or 43.7% of Bolivia`s total imports, purchased from Latin American and Caribbean countries (excluding Mexico). 35. (back) Letter from World Trade Online to www.insidetrade.com/. After 16 years of application, it was in force on 7 June 2010, the two countries decided to repeal ECA No. 31 and replace it with a new Economic Supplement Agreement (ECA No. 66), which would maintain free trade in goods without changing the preferential tariff treatment agreed in the terminated Free Trade Agreement. The new agreement entered into force on 7 June 2010. 4. Since 1990, reforms have been introduced to change the role of the state in the economy.

Small state-owned enterprises have been privatized and large caps have been privatized, resulting in a significant increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in strategic economic sectors. Since 1993, when Bolivia submitted its first report, the country has developed its policy of openness to international trade and foreign investment. The United States is currently extending duty-free treatment to imports from the four Andean countries under a regional preferential program. The Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA) allowed the president to treat certain products duty-free, and the Andean Law on Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication (ATPDEA) re-approved the ATPA program, adding products that had previously been excluded. More than half of all U.S. imports from Andean countries in 2005 were imported under these preferences. The last round of negotiations, in which the United States and the three Andean countries participated, was held in Washington, D.C., from 14 to 22 November 2005. .