Weekly Report - 2 October 2008 (ISSN 1741-7422)

The recent deterioration in US-Bolivia relations sparked by the expulsion of US ambassador to Bolivia [WR-08-36], hit a new low this week when US President George W Bush threatened to suspend Bolivia's designation as a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (Atpdea). The proposal was widely condemned and, three days later, in what was arguably a rebuke to Bush, the US House of Representatives approved a one-year extension of the act - which also includes Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.