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ICE Says
Internet Calls Illegal
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) - national
electrical and telecommunications company has declared illegal all
telephones calls made using the internet, or 'bypass' as it calls it,
evading the monopoly that ICE has over telecommunications.
Bypass calls are either callback or voice over IP type of calls. In a call
back, the internet is used to trigger a call back from the originating
country, enabling the user in Costa Rica to talk without incurring any cost
using ICE's telephone lines.
In a voice over IP, the call is made and carried over ICE's internet
service, which in most cases is on a telephone dial-up service, again,
without incurring long distance charges.
In most cases calls using the internet are up to 90% cheaper than long
distance rates charged by ICE. In one service that insidecostarica.com asked
for rates, a 10 minute call to New York would cost us only ¢425 colones,
while ICE would charge for the same call ¢1.915 colones.
Álvaro Retana, manager at ICE, says that ICE and RACSA (a company owned by
ICE that provides national internet service) will be on the watch for these
types of calls and will disconnect the call and in more drastic action, will
suspend telephone service to the caller and charge a penalty, though no
amount was offered.
Operators offering 'bypass' services say that, according to their lawyers,
the service they are offering is legal and ICE just doesn't want the
competition. ICE has and wants to keep their monopoly on all types of
telecommunications in Costa Rica.
New Customs
Law Paralyzes Imports
Officials of the Cámara de Comercio de Costa Rica - Costa Rican
Chamber of Commerce - is calling an utter chaos te situation which will only
get worse as a new customs law - artículo 86 de la Ley General de Aduanas -
came into effect last Friday.
According to the Chamber, the new law demands a the document titled "Declaración
oficial aduanera del país exportador", which requires a series of
information about the product being imported into Costa Rica.
The problem is that the majority of countries exporting merchandise into
Costa Rica, have no idea about the new document or its requirements. This is
the case in most of the European, South American and Asian countries, which
comprise more than 33% of all imports to Costa Rica. Only Central American
Countries and the United States are aware of the document.
The Chamber of Commerce, in a meeting with businesses and importers, is
studying the possibility of bringing forth an action of a "Rrecurso Amparo"
- an action in Costa Rica whereby the law is put aside and business is as
usual until a court makes a decision.
In the meantime all types of merchandise sits in the Customs warehouse
paralyzed and cannot be freed for delivery until all the new paperwork is in
order.
Most of concern to Chamber and importers is medical and other perishable
products.
Nicaragua Wants to Ensure Human Rights of it's Nationals in Costa Rica
Following a visit by Nicaragua's president, Enrique Bolaños, Nicaragua has
announced that it will keep a close eye on the human rights of Nicaraguans
in Costa Rica.
Nicaraguan Chancellor, Norman Caldera, told the press that even Nicaraguans
in Costa Rica without proper documentation have the right to have their
human rights respected.
Thousands of Nicaraguans, most of them in Costa Rican without documentation,
fear of being expelled from Costa Rican territory, losing their belongings
and being mistreated by the authorities.
Rogelio Ramos, Minister of Public Security, said in a public statement that
he welcomes the "vigil", adding that no one has the right to trample on
another person's rights. We will give the Nicaraguan government any
information and full co-operation in these types of situations.
Bolaños was in Costa Rica last weekend to meet with president Abel Pacheco,
following his return from Spain.
The interest on part of the Nicaraguan government follows the problems
experienced in La Carpio, a suburb west of San José, over the past couple of
months, where Costa Rican police made sweeps of the area and detained and
deported many Nicaraguans found to be in Costa Rica illegally.
The raid on La Carpio has been a sore point between the countries and
officials on both sides of the border are working hard to mend the fences
Four Seasons Opens Costa Rica Hotel
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has opened its first property in
Costa Rica.
Perched on a narrow plateau of the Papagayo Peninsula in the Pacific
northwest region of the country, the resort features low-key architecture --
no building is taller than the surrounding trees.
Guests can expect impressive views of forests as well as panoramic vistas of
the Pacific Ocean. They offer is a full roster of water sports, including
surfing, fishing and sea kayaking.
There is also an Arnold Palmer-designed, 18-hole golf course, a free-form,
infinity-edge swimming pool, children's play pool, fitness centre, tennis
courts and full-service spa.
For the adventurous, activities such as canopy tours, horseback riding and
day trips to wildlife reserves can also be arranged.
Chiquita's Banana
Prices Fall
Chiquita Brands International Inc. said the company's average banana prices
in North America fell 6 percent in the first two months of the first quarter
in 2004.
Banana prices for the same period last year were higher because flooding in
Costa Rica and Panama in late 2002 limited supply.
The volume of bananas the company sold in North America rose 2 percent in
the first two months of the quarter, said officials with the
Cincinnati-based international marketer, producer and distributor of bananas
and other produce.
On a local currency basis, Chiquita's average banana prices in its core
European markets fell 10 percent in the first two months of the 2004 first
quarter, compared with the same period last year. On a U.S. dollar basis,
the prices increased by 6 percent due to a stronger euro.
Politics Pose Hurdle for Trade Agreements
In his first three years in office, President Bush fulfilled a major
commitment to business community allies by pushing free trade bills through
Congress. But extending that streak into this election year may not be in
the cards.
As Democrats put an election-year focus on the deals as culprits in the loss
of U.S. jobs — and a small but crucial number of Republicans try to protect
sugar and textile producers — recently negotiated trade accords with Central
America, Australia and Morocco stand almost no chance of being ratified this
year.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, at a hearing
Tuesday on trade policy, said that "with enough political will" all three of
those agreements could be implemented this year. But "unfortunately,
political courage is not always in endless supply," notably in this election
year, he said.
Success on any of them would follow passage of the Jordan free trade
agreement in 2001, a hard-fought victory in 2002 giving Bush "fast track"
authority to negotiate trade deals without congressional interference and
passage of free trade accords with Chile and Singapore last year.
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the administration's point man on the Central
American Free Trade Agreement, said it was "embarrassingly good" for the
United States.
More than 80 percent of consumer and industrial goods exports to Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua would become duty-free
immediately, with the remaining tariffs phased out over 10 years, according
to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. More than half of current
farm exports to the region would become duty-free immediately, and the rest
over 15 years.
Brady conceded "it's going to be a challenge" to win approval this year,
"for reasons unrelated to the agreement itself."
"My gut feeling is that we are short of the votes right now," he said in an
interview.
One reason is that many Democrats see free trade deals, particularly the
1993 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, as causing
the loss of American manufacturing jobs.
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, a Democratic leader on trade issues, said his
party was united in its concerns about the failure of the pending Central
American pact to include "core labor standards," such as rights to bargain
collectively and prohibitions on child labor.
"CAFTA is destined to become the lightning rod for debate over international
trade policy," Levin said. Unless it is changed before coming to a vote, "it
will be defeated in Congress," he predicted.
"CAFTA was always a bit dicey because of the labor standards question," said
I.M. Destler, professor at the University of Maryland school of public
policy and a trade expert. "If the Bush administration wants to show that it
isn't running away from the trade issue, it might put up Australia and not
Central America."
Australia could be an easier sell because it is just one country and has
labor and income standards similar to the United States. Manufactured goods
account for 93 percent of U.S. exports to Australia, and the pact would
immediately end duties on almost all those goods.
But even it is controversial. Free traders chafe at the success of the U.S.
sugar industry in winning exemptions from quota and tariff reductions. The
Motion Picture Association of America is unhappy with language giving
Australia the right to restrict American-filmed entertainment on Australian
airways.
No congressional action on trade this year could cause a future logjam as
other negotiations are completed. Negotiations are proceeding, if slowly, on
a free trade zone for the entire Western Hemisphere outside Cuba, and other
potential partners include Thailand and Bahrain.
CAFTA is slightly ahead in the legislative process, with Bush on Feb. 20
notifying Congress of his intent to sign the agreement as part of his goal
"to expand economic opportunities and to promote economic growth and
prosperity."
The president can't actually sign the agreement for at least 90 days after
notification, giving Congress the chance to review it. Even then, he can sit
on it until he feels Congress is ready to act. His signature sets other
legislative clocks running that add months more to the process. Still,
nothing can be implemented until Congress formally approves it.
"The prevailing wisdom out there is that Congress doesn't want to pass a
trade agreement this year," said Bill Morley, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
(news - web sites)'s vice president for legislative affairs. "I think that's
wrong. This is precisely the time we need a free trade agreement to knock
down trade barriers."
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Venezuelan president backs out of oil threats against US
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday backed out of his
recent threats that oil exports to the United States could be halted if
Washington attempts to topple him, saying he would maintain stable oil ties
with the United States.
"Look at how important this commercial relationship is," Chavez said at the
signing of a contract with US firm Chevron Texaco to develop Block 3 of the
country's Deltana offshore gas project.
"It's very important that we take care of these relations. We want to work
together with the United States," he told foreign oil executives.
"In the last five years we have enough proof, not just words, but proof,
that we have supplied oil to the United States in a constant and secure
manner," said Chavez.
The United States is Venezuela's top trading partner and Caracas supplies
Washington with more than 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, but diplomatic
relations between the two countries have soured as a result of Chavez's ties
with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, his criticism of the US-led talks on a
hemisphere-wide free trade zone and his opposition to the war in Iraq.
Chavez has repeatedly warned the United States not to intervene in
Venezuela's internal affairs.
In his weekly radio program on Sunday, Chavez threatened the United States
that oil exports would be frozen if Washington continues to finance
opponents seeking a recall referendum on his presidency, calling the US
administration "a real threat to the world."
Chavez said his country "has enough allies on this continent to start a
100-year war."
He agreed with former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's claims that
he was the victim of a US plot to remove him from power and warned Bush not
to try to do the same with himself.
"The US government kidnaps presidents. Here in Venezuela, I tell you ...
don't even think of trying something similar, because you'll get another
tiny surprise," said Chavez.
"If that happens, the US people can forget about getting Venezuelan oil," he
added.
Most recently, Venezuela became a focus of international attention as street
battles between opposition protesters against President Chavez and the
police left at least nine people dead and more than 110 injured.
The protests were triggered on Feb. 27 by a decision of the electoral
authorities to reject an opposition petition for a recall vote against
President Chavez, saying it lacked enough valid signatures.
The protesters, angered by the decision, blocked streets with debris and
clashed with police in Caracas and other cities, and opposition leaders said
the protests would continue until the government agreed to hold a
referendum.
Under the Venezuelan Constitution, if half of the president's tenure has
been finished, he can be forced to face a recall referendum if more than 20
percent of registered voters demand it.
The opposition said it had submitted 3.4 million signatures collected since
last November, but the National Elections Council ruled last week that only
1.8 million signatures were valid, well short of the 2.4 million required
for a poll.
Observers here say neither Venezuela nor the United States is likely to
sabotage ties between the two countries because of theiroil trade.
Last week, US officials joined the Organization of American States and the
Carter Center, run by former US President Jimmy Carter, in "urging all sides
to express grievances in a peaceful and civil manner."
US State Department spokesman for Latin America Gonzalo Gallegos called on
all sides in Venezuela "to remain engaged with the national electoral
council to ensure they are timely, transparent, viable and respectable of
the petition signers' constitutional rights."
Cuba
confirms presence of Haitian refugees
Some 30 Haitian refugees are currently staying in Punta de Maisi,
Cuba's easternmost area, a source of the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry
stated Tuesday.
"I can confirm the presence of 30 Haitian emigrants in Punta deMaisi," an
unidentified spokesman of the foreign ministry said.
He said the Cuban government would act, like in the past, "with the utmost
respect for the dignity" of Haitians and in cooperation with the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The source also indicated that Cuba did not foresee the coming of a massive
flow of refugees due to the crisis in Haiti.
Havana did not pledge to continue to host the displaced Haitians despite a
request by the UNHCR, who sent an envoy to the camp to investigate if the
Haitians were qualified for refugees or if they were economic emigrants.
Punta de Maisi was already used in 1991 to shelter almost 1 million Haitian
refugees who fled their country after the deposition of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
During the political crisis that shook Haiti in the early 1990s Havana did
not repatriate the people who found refuge in Cuba until they voluntarily
decided to return.
Argentina avoids default at last minute
Argentina was last night claiming victory in its war against the
International Monetary Fund after the heavily indebted country avoided
defaulting on a $3.1bn (£1.7bn) payment to the Washington-based lender with
only hours to go before the deadline.
Sources in Buenos Aires said the country had secured an 11th-hour guarantee
from the IMF that it would not cut off the country's last remaining credit
line.
Interim IMF head Anne Krueger told President Nestor Kirchner yesterday that
she would recommend the lender's board keep funds flowing to the country,
the sources said. The IMF was not available for comment last night.
Argentina has been locked in testy negotiations with the IMF for weeks, with
the main sticking point being whether it has offered a fair deal to
investors saddled with $90bn in bad debt following the country's default on
foreign private lending two years ago.
IMF officials say it has no choice: its rulebook stipulates that it can
offer a financial lifeline to a defaulting country only if the government is
negotiating in good faith with other creditors.
Mr Kirchner's government has offered creditors 25 cents for every dollar of
debt, a settlement rejected by investors' organisations, which are demanding
65c on the dollar.
Argentina is facing its second economic progress report under a review of a
multibillion-dollar financial accord struck with the IMF after the crisis,
which began in late 2001.
Riordan Roett, an Argentina watcher at Johns Hopkins University in the
United States, said there remained compelling reasons for both sides to
avoid an impasse. "The key issue is that the IMF is in a trap. They have to
continue with the review and release the funds [Argentina] needed to repay
the IMF."
Missing yesterday's payment would have left Latin America's second-largest
economy a global pariah, joining an unenviable club in arrears to the IMF
which includes Zimbabwe, Sudan and Libya.
In a sign of how tense the battle has become, the Guardian has learned that
Buenos Aires was planning to increase the stakes, with an advertising
campaign arguing it must put the needs of the 50% of Argentinians living
below the poverty line before the demands of investors and global financial
institutions.
Paying creditors any more would risk plunging the economy back into
recession and reigniting the political instability that led to riots and a
succession of short-lived governments when Buenos Aires first defaulted on
its foreign debts to private creditors.
A draft advertisement says: "Argentina's offer to creditors reflects the
government's determination to lead the country towards sustained growth with
social inclusion. It would have been pointless to make an agreement with
creditors and the IMF before stabilising the economy, because no agreement
would have been credible."
A more generous settlement would be tantamount to ignor ing social reality,
the advertisement says, noting that 50% of Argentina's people live below the
poverty line and 50% are unemployed.
But analysts say that once the IMF impasse is over Argentina still has to
persuade European and US bondholders to accept its offer.
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