Bolivia blasts US on trade benefits

Bolivia has lashed out at the US for suspending the country's trade benefits over the alleged lack of cooperation in fighting drugs.  The development comes as President George W. Bush on Wednesday suspended Bolivia's participation in the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication (ATPDEA), a system that offers breaks on some US tariffs to Andean nations in exchange for cooperation in counter narcotic efforts.  President Evo Morales said on Thursday that Bolivia complied better than Colombia and Peru in controlling the cultivation of coca. "Those are the facts but this is political vengeance because we don't agree with capitalism, provoked wars or the free market," said Morales.  According to UN reports, coca crops expanded to cover nearly 250,000 acres (100,000 hectares) in Colombia in 2007 and over 124,000 acres (50,000 hectares) in Peru, while in Bolivia coca-growing area was roughly stable at 69,200 acres (28,000 hectares), Morales said.  Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador continue to benefit from the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) and the ATPDEA, which grant most of their goods duty-free status for entry into the US. On Dec. 15, the US trade benefits for Bolivia will formally be suspended, affecting the $363 million worth of Bolivian exports shipped to the United States last year.  Rejecting the US approach of forcibly eradicating coca crops, Bolivia said the measure only leads to violent clashes, Reuters reported.  Morales also reiterated his readiness to improve US-Bolivian relations once President-elect Barack Obama takes office but 'only if we are respected because Bolivia has been humiliated'. AGB/DT. Original source at PressTV