Thursday 25 September
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
US and Central
America Grants Costa Rica TLC Extension
BCR Ordered To
Recompense Victim Of Online Fraud
Coño, Bien, Bien, Bien!
Caja Guarantees
Medication
Volunteer in Costa
Rica Provider to Offer $150 off Packages
This Weekend in Jacó
|
US and Central America
Grants Costa Rica TLC
Extension
The United States
extended the October 1,
2008, deadline for Costa
Rica to ratify the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - free
trade agreement with the
US - to November 6,
2008. A US delegation is
expected to visit Costa
Rica on September 30 to
inspect the approval
process.
The delegation will be
headed by the Secretary
of the U.S. Department
of Commerce, Carlos
Gutiérrez, and the
United States Trade
Representative, Susan
Schwab.
Costa Rican president,
Oscar Arias, made the
announcement to the
press by telephone
yesterday from his hotel
suite at the Helmsley
hotel in New York.
The US delegation will
be taking a close look
at the process and
advances of approving
the last of the 13
"complimentary" laws
that are required to
accompany the trade deal
and to ensure first hand
that the other 12
complimentary laws have
all been approved.
Marco Vinicio Ruiz,
ministro de Comercio
Exterior, added that
accompanying the US
delegation will be
American businessmen and
investors, who are
anxious to expand
operations in Costa
Rica.
"I took the opportunity
to meet with Bush alone.
I explained to him we
have had a delay of a
constitutional nature
and that we required
more time", said Arias.
Arias met with US
president, George W.
Bush, yesterday morning
before heading out to
the United National
general assembly meeting
attended by signatories
countries of free trade
deals with the US. One
by one, the heads of the
Latin American countries
rendered their reports
on the state of the TLC
agreement and for those
countries yet to sign
and agreement, like
Costa Rica, render a
report on the advances
made to sign.
"When it was my turn to
speak I spoke with a
sense of guilt because
first we had to go to a
referendum and then
began the delay tactics
by opponents. Then with
sorrow had to inform
that the our trade deal
could not go into force
just yet", said Arias.
Present at the UN
meeting were also Álvaro
Uribe, president of
Colombia; Martín
Torrijos, of Panamá;
Michelle Bachelet, of
Chile; Antonio Sacca,
ofe El Salvador; Álvaro
Colom, of Guatemala;
Leonel Fernández, of the
República Dominicana;
Manuel Zelaya, of
Honduras; and. Felipe
Calderón, of México.
"We spoke of the
possibility of Costa
Rica making its best
effort to approve the
trade deal before the
elections in the US,
which is on (sic)
November 6", said Arias.
(The US presidential
elections is on November
4).
"If you will, we can see
this as the first
extension", said Arias,
who added that the date
is possible is no
legislator makes an
appeal to the
Constitutional Court.
The last of the
complimentary laws was
held up by a decision of
the Constitutional Court
that said there were
constitutional errors in
the document, sending it
back to legislators to
discuss and approve
changes. |
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