Long TLC Debate Ends
Tomorrow
The Legislative Assembly
will tomorrow vote on
the last of the
complimentary law
required for the
ratification of the
Tratado de Libre de
Comercio (TLC) - free
trade agreement with the
United States, Central
America and the
Dominican Republic.
The vote will follow the
second reading of the
intellection property
law, the last of the 12
complimentary law.
The vote puts and end to
the long history
setbacks, regulatory
delays and tricks that
forced the country to
ask its trade partners,
not one, but two
extensions for
ratification.
Costa Rica is the only
signatory country that
has yet to ratify the
trade deal with the
United States, which is
already in place in
Nicaragua, Honduras, El
Salvador, Guatemala and
the Dominican Republic.
Costa Rica has
originally until March
31, 2008 to ratify the
trade deal, a date that
came and went, forcing
Costa Rican president
Arias, a promoter of the
trade deal, to ask the
trade partners for an
extension which expired
on September 30, 2008.
That date came went
also, forcing Arias to
once again ask the trade
partners for a further
extension.
The limit date for the
ratification is now
December 31, 2008.
The intellectual
property law has been
the instrument for
opponents to stall the
ratification, against
the will of the people
who voted in favour of
the TLC in the country's
first referendum on
October 7, 2007.
Opponents, on September
11, 2008, appealed the
bill to the
Constitutional Court,
which on October 30,
2008, sent it back to
the legislature on the
basis of constitutional
flaws, putting the
entire trade deal in
jeopardy.
Costa Rica has until the
end of the year to
deposit the trade deal
document with the
Organization of American
States (OAS) as a
guarantee of compliance
to the trade pact which
will then go into effect
on January 1, 2009.
The ministro de Comercio
Exterior (Trade
minister), Marco Vinicio
Ruiz, said it would
"real nice" if all
legislators would vote
in unanimity in favour
of the last of the
complimentary law as a
sign of respect for the
will of the people who
voted in the majority in
favour of the TLC.
The main opponent to the
trade deal has been the
Partido Acción Ciudadana
(PAC) led by Otton
Solis.
Ruiz added that the PAC
should co-operate
positively in the vote
and that legislators as
well as the people
should be thinking of
ways for Costa Rica to
better compete in a
competitive market and
to take advantage of the
US market.
"We will be facing quite
a different situation in
the United States as it
deals with its economic
crisis and I think that
it would be an important
sign if we went in with
solidarity of the
producers and workers",
said Ruiz.
Ruiz added that the
Promotora de Comercio
Exterior (Procomer) is
preparing action to take
advantage of the trade
deal with the U.S.,
including opening four
trade offices in the
U.S.
Procomer already has an
office in New York and
will be opening a second
that will be inaugurated
by Costa Rican
president, Oscar Arias,
on November 20, followed
by an office in Houston,
Texas, and Los Angeles,
California. |
