Costa Rica And US Now
Trade Partners
United States president,
George W. Bush, pasved
the way Tuesday for
Costa Rica's formal
entry into the Central
American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) -
known locally as the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - with a
signature proclaming the
trade deal in force on
January 1, 2009.
"This step marks an
important milestone in
our relationship with
Costa Rica, building on
our strong economic and
political partnership,"
U.S. Trade
Representative Susan
Schwab said.
The trade negotiations
began back in 2003, as
Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Guatemala, Honduras and
El Salvador began the
process of a Central
American trade deal with
the US. The Dominican
Republic later enter the
talks.
All the signatory
countries, except for
Costa Rica, ratified and
put in place their
respective deals more
than a year ago.
Costa Rica held a public
referendum on the issue,
with a slight margin in
favour of the trade
deal. Opponents blocked
the deal every step of
the way as it moved
through the legislative
process, forcing the
Costa Rican government
to ask for, not one, but
two extensions from the
US.
The last of the hurdles
were cleared in the last
several weeks, allowing
the government of Oscar
Arias to finally be able
to present the ratified
document and allow the
trade deal to go into
effect before the last
deadline of December 31,
2008.
U.S. exports to the
Dominican Republic and
the five Central
American countries hit a
record us$22.4 billion
in 2007, Schwab's office
said in a statement. |
