Costa Rica Tells US
It Is Ready With The TLC
The ministro de Comercio
Exterior, Marco Vinicio
Ruiz; the ministro de la
Presidencia, Rodrigo
Arias; and the canciller
de la República, Bruno
Stagno, met on Wednesday
with United States
Secretary of State,
Condoleezza Rice, while
in Pamama, and informed
that the Costa Rica will
be ready with the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - Free
Trade Agreement - that
will go into effect
January 1, 2009.
The Costa Rican
officials assured Rice
that Costa Rica is
working out the last
minute details for it to
deposit the trade deal
with the Organization of
American States (OAS)
before the Decemeber 31,
2008, deadline.
Foreign trade and
commerce ministers and
officials from 13
countries who have or
are negotiating free
trade deals with the
United States are in
Panama attending the
forum titled “Caminos
para la Prosperidad de
las Américas” (Roads for
Prosperity in the
Americas)
The Panamanian
chancellor, Samuel Lewis
Navarro, said in a
statement of the forum
or scope of action "will
not compete with any
other integration
initiative" already
underway in the region.
The declaration was
signed by the foreign
ministers or their
representatives from
Canada, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, El Salvador,
United States,
Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, Peru and the
Dominican Republic.
In this first commitment
of its kind includes
development of programs
that enable them
farmers, micro, small
and medium businesses
access to training and
funding necessary "and
promote" investment in
infrastructure,
communications, energy,
transport, tourism and
agro-industry to further
trade in the
hemisphere." |
