Ecuadorian businessmen say they have little hope of achieving a further renewal of the Andean Trade Preference Agreement (ATPDEA), according to Ricardo Estrada, president of the Corporation for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Corpei).
Canned and pouched tuna exported by Ecuadorian canneries to the USA will be affected by the lost of this preferential duty status.
“We hope to resume talks with the U.S. government in order to achieve a comprehensive agreement that includes trade and investment," said Corpei’s president.
He reiterated that it is difficult to restore the tariff preferences overnight. “We cannot sit and mourn if there isn’t anything we can do. At the moment, beyond obtaining the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate’s good will to renew, there’s not much we can do, because these are unilateral preferences granted by the U.S. government,†he said.