Bolivia

A spotlight on value chains

Over the last two years, COPLA has investigated a wide range of topics relating to trade, poverty and social exclusion in Latin America. Given the failings of orthodox trade theory to deal with these issues, our researchers have applied cutting-edge research techniques to help them to understand these complex linkages.

VENEZUELA SAYS IT WILL BUY ALL THE ATPDEA

The arrangement establishes that the Venezuelan State Industrial Supplies will buy all the total production of the ATPDEA that used to be sent to the U.S.A. The Government launched the fund of $us 8 millions to grant to exporters The Bolivian president Evo Morales thanked yesterday ‘the opening of the Venezuelan Market’ to the Bolivian textiles to face the ‘blackmail’ of the USA, behind the signing of these commercial agreements. According to a report of the Ministry of Production and Microenterprises of Bolivia, the agreement allows that the Venezuelan State Industrial Supplies (Suvinca for its Spanish acronym) ‘executes the purchase of all the Bolivian exportable demand in substitution of the ATPDEA (Law of the Andean Commercial Promotion and Drug eradication)’. ‘ The USA tries to sabotage Bolivia with protectionist policies, wants to cut our exports of textiles’ the president accused, who was accompanied by the Production and Microenterprises Minister, Susana Rivero. The signed agreements include a commercial cooperation agreement between Bolivia and Venezuela and a specific mechanism of textiles export between the State organizations Promueve Bolivia and Suvinca. ‘ The country where there is more drug trafficking, Colombia, they don`t punish (….) If they persist in the obstacles ( of USA), the next to be expelled will be the DEA ( Antidrug Department of that country), not only the ambassador’ warned Morales. In September, the Bolivian Government expelled the American Ambassador Philip Goldberg in Bolivia. Evo Morales stated that the United Nations recognize that his country fights hard against the drug trafficking of the region. The negotiation of the Government of Morales in Venezuela expects to relieve the concern of Bolivian entrepreneurs after the USA decision of initiating a process to suppress Bolivia of the preferential tariffs assigned to the Andean countries for their efforts against the drug trafficking struggle. The agreements that fall within the framework of the ALBA, Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas were confirmed by Morales and his Venezuelan colleague Hugo Chavez, in the Luapa ground base, from where the Venezuelan satellite was launched. Caracas and La Paz, EFE and La Razón. Credits for Exporters The government approved a decree to create a fund of US$ 8 millions, with the objective to grant credits to the textile exporters and to cover the tariffs to sell their production to USA. The action responds to the current suspension of the benefit of zero tariffs established by the Law of the Andean Commercial Promotion and Drug eradication (ATPDEA). The Minister of Treasury, Luis Arce, and the vice minister of Exports, Huascar Ajata, announced yesterday the emission of the Decree 29766, which authorizes the finance portfolio to create a trust of US$ 8 millions, with resources of the General National Reserve. In two previous occasions, in days prior to the expiry date of the tariff preferences, the Executive had already emitted two similar decrees that established the use of the US$ 8 million to cover the tariffs facing the end of the ATPDEA. According to the governmental ABI, the resources will be managed by the Productive Development Bank (BDP for its Spanish acronym). To access the credits, the affected exporting enterprises should register in the state platform of alternative markets. The five steps 1 Register • The Enterprise has to register in the platform o for Exporters in Promueve Bolivia to be accredited before Suvinca and the Venezuelan Ministry of Trade. 2 Round table • The next step is to participate in the round table of exchange and integration to establish the agreements with the buyer, which is the Venezuelan State Suvinca. 3 Agreement • According to the Executive, they have to agree and subscribe the commercial alliances to establish the conditions of the exportable products and the funding. 4 Bond • The Ministry of Production and Microenterprise points out that the forth step is to is to deal with the bond to access the down payment of 50% of the value of the purchase. 5 Sale • According to the report of the portfolio directed by Susana Rivero, as soon as the four steps are accomplished, the enterprises can export their production to Venezuela. Points of view ‘The mechanism isn’t clear’ GARY RODRÍGUEZ. IBCE General Manager ‘The mechanics aren’t clear. There are more questions than answers, that only time will confirm if they were worthy or not. Amounts are not established. We would like to think that the sale will be free, but it doesn’t say the moment it’s going to be activated. Once more the common mistake is committed that the governments will be in charge of the trade, when private agents should be the ones doing it.. In the forum that we did in September, more than 100 voices expressed the recommendation that the governments should generate the environment so that private enterprises could do what they know how to do: invest, produce and trade according to the market’. ‘We have to see the details’ MARCOS IBERKLEID. Ametex President ‘ We tried to find the terms of the agreement, not an opinion. I heard from the absurd to the sublime. It is a theme of enormous importance to the enterprises and Bolivia. I believe that we have to make precise measurements and see where the opportunities and challenges are. We haven’t participated nor in the design neither in the signature of this. We should support the government in the attempt to find better mechanisms. The industry and the exporters need a market. I think this deserves a closer look in detail, if we could find a bigger market, fantastic. But we need to understand the details of the agreement’.

Top Story

Bush removes the ATPDEA and Bolivia is searching markets

Trade. The market that generates $us 400 millions in exports is closing. The Chancellery takes it like an attack to the State and announces the search of new buyers, but admits that this is complicated.

Exporters: there are 120.000 jobs at risk and the fourth best client

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Bush removes the ATPDEA and Bolivia is searching markets

Trade. The market that generates $us 400 millions in exports is closing. The Chancellery takes it like an attack to the State and announces the search of new buyers, but admits that this is complicated.

Exporters: there are 120.000 jobs at risk and the fourth best client

IBCE evaluates the decalogue of critical themes for the economy

If the recommendations of the ‘Decalogue’ had being transformed into good public policies, the investments, the production and employment would have increased. There would be less inflation and people wouldn’t want to leave the country. But, it didn’t happen that way. The ‘Decalogue ‘emerged from more than 20 Forums of the Civil Society Dialogues carried out by IBCE since 2006, which were timely sent to the Executive Power.

In USA there is doubt in the ATPDEA extension

Decision. Today the American ambassador returns, after being summoned for consultations to Washington
Eliot L. Engel, president of the subcommittee of External Relations for the Occidental Hemisphere of the Chamber of Representatives said yesterday that he was deeply concerned for the threat of USAID’s expulsion of the Chapare Region in Bolivia.

A study reveals that MSMSs are not so relevant in exports

A report from the IBCE to Ana María Solares shows that, although 8 out of 10 exporter companies are from this sector, their level of sales to other countries reaches only 3% of the total exported. If they want to develop, these units have to associate and get more formal. (Formalize)

Nevertheless, these 8 out of ten formal companies that sell their products to external markets are micro, small and medium enterprises (mipymes), the level of export of the sector barely reaches 3% of the national total and only 10% if it involves the non traditional external trade.

The Government stops millionaire cooking oil sales

The Government stops millionaire cooking oil sales
Decree. With this decree, for a year, the Executive is looking for a way of reducing the price of cooking oil. The private sector alerts that 300.00 families could be without employments. They summon an emergency congress.

Juan Carlos Salinas Cortez
The purchasing power dropped a 13% in the last 12 months

Cheap hand labor in the chestnuts shacks

More than 3000 boys and girls work illegally and in precarious conditions; this adds to 3.500 adolescents that work in similar conditions and without labor rights in the collection and processing of chestnut. A big quantity of them present (decline )held back in school because of this work, others got sick with malaria or parasitism; but their worst ailment is to be held as cheap hand labor for the working market or the Amazonia north of Bolivia.

The importance of the US unilateral trade preferences

In 1991 the USA decreed the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) to combat drug production and trafficking in the Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).

15 International Festival of the Pantanal"MATO GROSSO: From Pantanal to Amazonia, from Guapore to Araguaia

05/14/2008 - 19:30
05/18/2008 - 22:00
Etc/GMT
EventType:
Bolivia

The 15 International Festival of the Pantanal, will be distributed in subject areas across poles: Amazonia, Araguaia, Cerrado and the Pantanal, beyond the States, countries and institutions invited to make an exhibition of cultural and tourist potential of its regions and its people.

April 2008: Sustainable trade in the Amazon

Both COPLA Nicaragua and Bolivia address the use of natural resources by the poor. While it is recognised that their participation in the value chain is important, it is also true that this does not guarantee success for those involved. It is also the case that a wide range of policies are necessary to develop the systems, competencies and skills that are conducive to the poor successfully participating of community based forestry and the trade of forest-related products. A recent paper from ODI Natural Resoruces Perspective by Benno Pokorny and James Johnson suggests the following:

Constituent Assembly in Bolivia - Unification process or division

Although Bolivia is experiencing a period economic prosperity at the moment, the country continues to face problems with poverty and difficulties in sharing wealth.

COPLA Bolivia

The team from GNTP has developed an initiative that considers three pillars: capacity building pilot initiatives, an evidence lab or hub and dialogue for impact. The inception phase of their strategy therefore sees work carried out on two equally important fronts: raising awareness and establishing partnerships with key actors with whom to develop capacity building pilot projects and engage in dialogues; and carrying out in depth research on the three sectors identified to identify concrete capacity needs of the different actors and set the stage for new research and capacity development opportunities.

COPLA Bolivia: Research summary

Author:
GNTP
Publisher:
GNTP

Access to and use of natural resources is a subject that has been the cause of considerable conflict and which until now, has remained unresolved by conventional democratic approaches and dialogue.

October 2007: Launch of COPLA-Bolivia

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GNTP will be working with ODI in the UK, CIES in Peru, Nitlapán in Nicaragua, and CIPPEC in Argentina on a two year trade and poverty programme which launches today.