Andean Community approves reform without Bolivia - Peru-US free trade deal to move forward
Andina | 14 August, 2008
Andean Community approves reform without Bolivia - Peru-US free trade deal to move forward
Peru’s minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Aráoz, announced on Thursday that the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) approved to modify the norm regarding intellectual property, which will allow Peru to implement the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
“At daybreak, specifically at 02:00 hours (07:00 GMT), this important decision for Peru was approved, essentially based on the permanent support of Colombia and Ecuador”, she stated.
The modification was approved by the Andean economic bloc in a second round of voting.
“The first round of voting was held a month ago, and the result did not have consensus. Today, voting resulted in 3 vs. 1; in other words, it has been accepted by majority, being Bolivia the only opponent to this decision”, indicated Aráoz.
“The pro tempore presidency, in charge of Ecuador, presented an option that considered the consensus will, including Bolivia’s. However, at the end of the day, this country did not want to accept it, which is very sad”, she said.
Aráoz considered Bolivia’s position unacceptable, because simply it is just opposed to everything that comes from other CAN countries.
“We have looked for a consensus for a long time, adapting ourselves to the requests made by this country, but there was always that negative attitude. This is not the way to look for integration, because Bolivia does not want to give anything, but it demands everything. Peru is grateful for Ecuador and Colombia’s permanent support”, she stated.
