Ecuador to Compensate Exporters Hurt by End of U.S. Trade Preferences-

The Wall Street Journal - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 As of 3:36 PM EDT

 
    By Mercedes Alvaro 
 

QUITO, Ecuador--Ecuador's National Assembly approved a law late Tuesday to compensate exporters affected by the expiration of the U.S.-Andean Trade Preferences and Drug Eradication Act, or Atpdea.
The law was approved with 103 votes in favor and only one against. It will compensate exporters with about $23 million a year.

The law allows for the giving of tax-credit certificates to companies affected by the removal of the preferences. The certificates can be used to pay taxes or some debts with state-owned banks.
The government of President Rafael Correa has said that the impact of losing the preferences will be $23 million a year, while Ecuadorean exporters put the number at $26 million.

The Atpdea provides duty-free access to some U.S. imports from Ecuador. It originally was created to help four Andean countries in their efforts to fight drug production and trafficking, but currently Ecuador is the only remaining beneficiary of the preferences.

The Atpdea benefits expire Wednesday, and the application of tariffs for Ecuadorean products will start on Thursday.

The U.S. is Ecuador's top trade partner. Last year, the Andean country's exports to the U.S. totaled about $10.62 billion, which represents 45% of the country's total exports.

Last year Ecuador exported about $242 million under the Andean trade preferences to the U.S., 23% of the country's non-oil exports, including canned tuna, flowers and broccoli.

These three products accounted for about 90% of the Ecuadorean exports under the Atpdea.
According to the Ecuadorian Exporters Federation, known as Fedexpor, about 250 products and more than 200 companies will be affected by the loss of the preferences.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130731-715304.html

Ecuador, the main destination for Colombian refugees-

A total of 99% of the 55,327 individuals with refugee status in Ecuador are Colombian.

By Lissette Condo for Infosurhoy.com - 01/08/2013

Access to decent housing is one of the biggest problems faced by refugees, who comprise 10% of the population in Lago Agrio, a municipality in the northeastern Ecuadoran province of Sucumbíos, 569 kilometers from the border with Colombia. (Courtesy V. Rodas/ACNUR-UNHCR)

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador – His accent gives him away.
After 12 years in a foreign country, his Colombian identity remains firmly intact.
“It’s been nearly 13 years under the shadow of silence,” said Ramón, 52, who declined to provide his last name for safety reasons.
To live in freedom, he had to leave his native land and immigrate to Ecuador.....
... Of that total, at least 99% are Colombians, with the rest from the Middle East.....
Read more: http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/main/2013/08/01/feature-01

TIPUTINI RIVER, Ecuador - An experiment in Amazon conservation faces economic reality-

Miami Herald >  News >  Americas> ECUADOR - Posted on Saturday, 08.03.13

ead more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy

 

BY JIM WYSS - jwyss@MiamiHerald.com

 ...The mysteries of this forest, which scientists like Coley are still discovering, could be at risk after this South American nation quietly began considering pulling the plug on one of the most innovative and ambitious conservation plans ever attempted.
The Yasuní-ITT Initiative was designed to leave more than 846 million barrels of crude oil untouched, in perpetuity, beneath Yasuní National Park — rioting with unknown species and tribes living in voluntary isolation.
In exchange, the government asked the world to cover just half of the crude’s $7.2 billion market price.
Environmental groups praised the plan as a novel way to slash greenhouse gases. In 2010, the United Nations threw its support behind the project, setting up a trust fund to receive and manage donations. There were hopes that crowd-sourcing conservation might be a model for other developing nations.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy

A young man of the Guiyero community makes a communal house July 13, 2013, in the Yasuni National Park in Orellana, Ecuador. SANTIAGO SERRANO / santiago serrano

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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557_p3/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy

  ....In the balance is one of the most biodiverse spots on the planet. The ITT block is among the most isolated areas of Yasuní National Park, a 2.4 million-acre U.N. biosphere reserve, which holds about one-third of all of the Amazon’s amphibian species, even though it represents just a small fraction of the total area. In any given two-and-a-half acre plot of the Yasuní — roughly the size of a soccer pitch — there are more species of trees than in the United States and Canada combined.
“As a biologist, nothing makes me more awestruck than to work in an incredibly diverse and pristine area where every day you discover something that you couldn’t even imagine or anticipate,” Coley said. Read more:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: 100 million dollar investment for Manta

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: 100 million dollar investment for Manta: Ecuador news magazine - Quito, August 2 (Andes).- The port of Manta, in the province of Manabí, will receive a 100-million dollar investment...private contributions for 30 million, as part of a special development project, reported the Port Authority....

Rodolfo Cano, port manager, explained that the development project, approved by the Ministry of Transportation – which encompasses 70 million dollars intended for physical infrastructure and 30 million dollars for equipment – will be allocated to a private operator who wins the international competition for said assignment, expected to take place this year.

The project encompasses the expansion of the international pier from 200 to 550 meters in length and a yard for 300 thousand containers on the East side of the Port. Cano estimated that it will be completed by 2015.

Manta will be the only multi-purpose, deep water port in the country, with the capacity to cater to the line of business of car importers, wholesalers, container carriers, and fisheries.....

Volcano continues to affect air routes / U.S. signals it wants better relations with EC

ECUADOR DIGEST
Volcano continues to affect air routes / U.S. signals it wants better relations with Ecuador, trade discussions underway

Posted By Admin | Published: July 24, 2013 23:20

Ecuador’s civil aviation authority continues to re-route flights between Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil to avoid the Tungurahua volcano smoke plume. The plume of ash, smoke and steam, rises almost five kilometers above the 16,000 foot volanco.

Flight routes have been shifted to the west, adding five to 15 minutes to flight times between cities.

Although some in-country flights have been cancelled as a result of the volcano, most have continued on schedule.
http://www.cuencahighlife.com/post/2013/07/24/ECUADOR-DIGEST3cbr3eVolcano-continues-to-affect-airline-routes3b-US-signals-it-wants-better-relations-with-Ecuador-trade-discussions-underay.aspx

Living the life Ecuador Coast: Health Advice

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Health Advice

Health Advice

From Nurse Evelyn USAF RN

Now that you have moved here, and by here I mean to South America, the information is general and applies to all of the Latin American countries.

This subject is not often spoken about, and is not a question that you would know to ask. 

Even when you look at the many web sites out there encouraging you to move here from North America, they contain vague warnings about drinking the water, the use of mosquito repellent, about bed bugs and a few other things. These are just as much in need of a warning from where you came.

No, this subject is about worms, and not the kind that you would use for fishing or would hope are turning over the soil in your garden.

These worms find a very nice place to live inside our bodies; to be clear, in our gut or intestines......Living the life Ecuador Coast: Health Advice: Health Advice From Nurse Evelyn USAF RN Now that you have moved here, and by here I mean to South America, the information is general...

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Quito,the tourist capital of the world

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Quito,the tourist capital of the world: Ecuador news magazine - Quito, July 22 (Andes).- One hundred and seventy one (171) countries and its citizens voted for Quito to win the “To...

Quito,the tourist capital of the world

Ecuador news magazine - Quito, July 22 (Andes).- One hundred and seventy one (171) countries and its citizens voted for Quito to win the “Tourism Oscar”, that this past Monday was presented to its new hosts. Through the prize awarded by World Travel Awards to the Ecuadorian capital as leading South American destination, Quito surpassed Rio de Janeiro which had earned this award for the past nine years.

“This prize is the product of a process to promote Quito’s tourism. Besides, it honors Quito and what it may become as a world icon”, said Quito’s mayor, Augusto Barrera.

The first Cultural Heritage of Humanity welcomed on average 533,000 foreign visitors in 2012.

“Quito is not just its monuments, roads and infrastructure; it’s also the warmth of its people that turns us into first rate hosts”, upheld Eduardo Dousdebes, Secretary of Productive Development and Productivity of the Municipality.