CARICOM, Central
America Talk Free Trade
Central America and the
Caribbean will discuss a
free trade agreement on
Wednesday in Trinidad
and Tobago.
The heads of state of
the "C4": El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua,
Honduras, plus Panama,
voiced interest at
meetings held in
February and May in an
accord with the
15-strong Caribbean
Community.
Leroy Sheffer, of
Panama's Commerce and
Industry Ministry,
pointed out this is a
valuable market for
milk, cheese, beef,
cardboard and tomatoes.
Panama exports to
CARICOM grew from $8.5
million in 2003 to some
$18.6 million in 2006,
so a free trade accord
will profit producers,
exporters and services.
The negotiators already
outlined the terms of
the negotiations so
debates will focus on
market accessibility and
regulations.
Sonia Lainfiesta,
foreign trade policy
coordinator of
Guatemala's Economy
Ministry and Central
American Integration
System (SICA), said they
used the Costa Rica-CARICOM
FTA as reference. |
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