“Edward Snowden is a fugitive who has endangered the national security of the United States,” Sen. Robert Menendez said in a statement released late on Wednesday. “Trade preferences are a privilege granted to nations, not a right. I urge [Ecuadorean] President Correa to do the right thing by the United States and Ecuador, and deny Snowden’s request for asylum.”
In 2012, Ecuador exported some $5.4 billion worth of oil, $166 million of cut flowers, $122 million of fruits and vegetables and $80 million of tuna to the United States.
Menendez said he would lead efforts to stop the renewal of Ecuador’s duty-free access to America markets under the Generalized System of Preferences program, which expires on July 31. He also said he’d try and block renewal of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, which also expires at the end of July.
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