WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Committee on Ways and Means today approved by voice-vote H.R. 5264, providing for a ten-month extension of Andean Trade Preference Programs. The measure is expected to be considered by the full House during the week of February 25.
"This extension will help build on the successful Andean trade preference program and further our efforts to promote stronger economic ties between these countries and our nation," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). "While a longer-term extension would have been ideal to provide the necessary predictability and stability for the Andean programs, I have included the shorter extension in this bill to accommodate the range of opinions on the issue of renewal."
The current set of Andean preferences will expire on Thursday, February 28 without action by Congress and the President to extend them. A copy of the Committee-approved legislation is available on the Ways and Means website.
