| NEWS |
|
updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
|
Trade Negotiators Say Talks
Went Well
Negotiators from the United States and Central America said on Friday they made good progress in talks this week on a proposed free trade agreement and hoped to conclude the pact at their next meetings in December.
The treaty would strike down most barriers to trade between the United States and five countries in economically stricken Central America.
"I think it has been a very important week," said Anabel Gonzalez, chief negotiator for Costa Rica. "I'd characterize it as a week of major achievements that will pave our way for the conclusion" at the ninth and final round of talks in Washington in December.
Representatives from the two sides, who met in Houston this week in their eighth round of talks, told reporters they hammered out agreements on a number of key issues, including the phasing out of trade tariffs.
U.S. chief negotiator Regina Vargo said they agreed to drop tariffs gradually for a period up to 10 years, depending on the product.
She said there were no final agreements on key labor and environmental issues, but that "good progress" had been made.
The pact would call for "countries to effectively enforce their own labor laws," she said.
The final agreement could encounter strong opposition in the U.S Congress if labor provisions are not up to international standards, Democrats warned this week in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
U.S. Representative Kevin Brady, a Republican from Houston who is helping promote the treaty, acknowledged that the congressional fight could be difficult but said the plan is to bring it up for a vote next summer.
The Central American countries negotiating with the United States include El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.
Kidnapped North
American Rescued by Police Action
Police have
two men in custody, with prior convictions, who are
believed to be behind the kidnapping of North
American, Richard Henry Hinkle.
Investigators were on the scene since Wednesday when
the 38 year old North American became the
subject of a kidnapping for three days.
When interviewed, Hinkle told reporters that he was
glad to be home. He commented that the he feels like
it all has been part of a movie.
Hinkle is the owner of Brand Fashions located in
Mall Cariari, west of San José. He was kidnapped on
Wednesday outside of his home in Belen.
Hinkle is not known to have money and police would
not speculate on the motive behind the kidnapping.
He is a pastor for the Baptist church and many North
Americans know him from his street performances in
downtown San José, where along with his children,
he would offer music and prayer to passersby.
Flights to Berlin
Starting next
November 3, German airline Condor will have a weekly
scheduled flight between Berlin and Costa Rica.
Local authorities hail this flight - that adds to
those by several other European and US links to the
Old Continent - as a boost for the tourist industry,
since Europe is the second source of visitors to
Costa Rica, surpassed only by the United States.
Costa Rica advises
Ecuador
The Government of
Ecuador announced that Costa Rica is to provide it
with technical know-how on the development of
tourism and the swapping of oxygen for external
debt.
A joint commission will draft the projects to
be developed, the sources added.
The swapping of
oxygen consists in the preservation of Amazon and
tropical forests - that release oxygen in the
atmosphere- in exchange for reductions in the
external debt of participating countries.
|
|
Click
here a FREE quote on the lowest Air Tickets Prices
to and from Costa Rica!
|
|
Colombian referendum ends amid violence
Amid violence that left 12 dead, Colombian voters cast their ballots on Saturday in the referendum called by President Alvaro Uribe to seek in-depth political and fiscal reforms.
Voting started at 8:00 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) and lasted eight hours. Nearly 25 million voters have been registered for the 15-question referendum on constitutional reforms concerning political, economic and social issues. The approval of each point needs 3.1 million "yes" votes.
Despite tightened security to prevent attacks during the referendum, the day was tarred with assassinations, kidnappings and explosions that left at lest 12 dead, seven of them
civilians, and 21 injured in different parts of the country.
Colombian authorities said rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) murdered Indian leader Segundo
Benavides in southwestern Narino state.
Benavides was reportedly kidnapped Thursday and his body was found on Saturday near Cocha Lake in the state. Relatives of Benavides said he had rejected the campaign promoted by FARC to thwart the referendum.
In another violent action, presumed FARC members kidnapped 12 electoral officials near Trujillo in southwestern Valle del Cauca state.
In La Guajira state, FARC rebels destroyed two electricity pylons while a bridge was dynamited in the neighboring state of Cesar.
In Arauquita, northeast of the country, a car bomb exploded
and caused material damage. A similar explosion rocked Medellin, the second largest city in the country.
The coordinator of opposition Democratic Pole party in south Bogota, Hector Agudelo, was kidnapped.
Sale of alcohol was banned from 6 p.m. Saturday until 6:00 a.m.Monday, and no civilians were allowed to carry arms during the period.
The Colombian government expects to receive 6.268 million
votes, both positive and negative, but the goal was believed to be challenging as abstentions are high among Colombian voters.
Opposition parties and illegal armed groups campaigned to
block the referendum, accusing Uribe of trying to "cover the fiscal deficit" and preparing for re-election in 2006 by holding the referendum.
The president, who proposed the referendum when he took office on Aug. 7, 2002, said on Saturday that it is a step to fight corruption and to "strengthen the public order."
In the referendum, the government proposed freezing wages and pensions for government officials, reducing the size of Congress and fighting corruption, but local analysts say the government needs more drastic fiscal and pensions reforms.
Members of the Liberal Party, who are major opponents to the referendum, expected the referendum to fail and said it would represent a "victory" for the opposition.
A year after taking office, Uribe now enjoys a 70-percent approval rate. But analysts said his approval rate could drop if the referendum fails and harsh economic measures continue. Unemployment could reach 17 percent under current economic circumstances, they warned.
Other political analysts anticipated that if the referendum
was approved, pro-Uribe congressmen would be encouraged to move ahead with efforts for Uribe's re-election.
Colombia has been plagued by a four-decade civil war. The conflict kills about 3,500 people every year, most of them civilians.
Argentina, US agree to call for "mini-summit" on FTAA
Deputy US Trade Representatives Peter F. Allgeier and Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa agreed to call for a "mini-summit" before the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations in Miami, the reports said on Saturday.
The mini-summit would be held on Nov. 8, and representatives from 12 American countries would be summoned for analyzing the advances in the
FTAA.
Both Allgeier and Bielsa hoped that the mini-summit could
reach a pre-agreement ahead of the intricate FTAA negotiations.
The FTAA meeting is due on Nov. 19-20, trade ministers from 34 countries will attend the meeting to discuss creating a
free-trade region covering the Western Hemisphere.
Allgeier, who visited Argentina on Friday, said the United States would take a step toward the creation of the
FTAA.
His visit came after Brazil's warning that inadequate discussion on agricultural issues in Miami next month could "restrain" the
FTAA.
Brazil, South America's largest economy, remain firm in its demand to include agricultural issues in the FTAA negotiations, while Allgeier had reiterated his nation's position that farm subsidies should remain outside the Miami talks.
"Miami could be for the FTAA what Cancun was for the World Trade Organization," said Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues on Tuesday.
Argentina and Brazil presented a joint proposal this week
"with a delay" for the opening of the sector of services -- of utmost importance for the United States -- but nothing has been done yet in regard to the liberalization of investments, Allgeier was quote as saying.
Allgeier also signed four agreements with Argentina during his visit. With those, the United States accepted the elimination of tariffs on imports for certain textile production from Argentina.
As well, the United States would send a technical mission to Patagonia, in the southern Argentina, to declare a foot-and-mouth-disease-free zone there (without vaccination), which would allow livestock exports in that area.
Argentina and the United States would collaborate in the control of bio-terrorism and would form an agricultural and food consultative committee to homogenize the sanitary barriers, like the ones curbing the access of US meat, the reports said.
|
|
|
