U.S. To Grant Trade Deal
Extention
The United States
indicated yesterday that
it is willing to give
Costa Rica an extension
on the Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) as the
country continues with
the process of ratified
the trade deal.
The trade deal known as
the Central America Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)
unites the Central
American countries of
Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Honduras and El Salvador
and the Dominican
Republic and the United
States in free trade
zone.
All the other countries
in the trade deal, save
for Costa Rica, have
ratified and put in
place their respective
trade agreements. Costa
Rica has until March 1,
2008, to ratify the
trade deal.
The U.S. decision came
from the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce
for Export
Administration,
Christopher A. Padilla,
who will be visiting
Costa Rica next week to
meet personally with
Costa Rican president,
Oscar Arias and members
of his government, to
discuss the issue.
The Padilla visit is
part of a tour of all
the signing members to
the trade deal.
Padilla, in his
statement, assured that
U.S. president, George
W. Bush, is desirous
that Costa Rica be part
of the trade pact
because it is mutually
beneficial and that it
would not be good if it
were the only country
left out of the deal.
The other Central
America countries said
expressed this week that
it would agree to an
extension for Costa
Rica. The concern that
Nicaragua would nix the
extension was removed as
the Nicaraguan foreign
ministry told his Costa
Rican counterpart that
Nicaraguan president,
Daniel Ortega, expressed
no objection to the
extension.
Costa Rica, in the words
of president Arias, is
the first and only
country to decide the
fate of the trade deal
by public vote - a
referendum held on
October 7 gave the
government the mandate
to move ahead with the
trade deal - and is the
first country to ever
ask for an extension.
The reason for the
extension request is
that for the trade deal
to go into effect the
Costa Rican legislature
has to approve a series
of "parallel" or
"complimentary" laws
that will become part of
the TLC. Costa Rica has
until March 1 to pass
the complimentary laws
and ratify the trade
deal.
However, actions by the
opposition party slowed
down the process and to
day only two of the 11
complimentary laws have
passed second and final
reading, four passed
first reading, three are
in the discussion stage
and two are yet to even
make it to the
legislative floor.
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