Food businesses in Costa Rica will not support trade agreements which exclude raw materials that add value to food.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA) has denounced the protection of local monopolies on basic commodities like sugar, as exemplified in negotiations for the FTA with Colombia, where sugar was excluded.
A statement from the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA) reads:
Food industry requires exclusion of the FTA with Colombia
• CACIA considers the exclusion of sugar from the FTA with Colombia a serious error.
• Companies will not support food trade agreements in which raw materials for adding value are excluded.
July 31, 2012. The Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA), described as a bad sign and a big mistake, the malpractice already consolidated by the authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, of excluding raw materials from free trading, such as the case of sugar, announced today as excluded from the FTA with Colombia.
"We can not accept a model of trade liberalization as strange as the one promoted by the current Ministry of Foreign Trade, in which processed foods of high added value and high technology investment, are required to be opened up to imports, while raw materials like sugar, which continue consolidating their monopoly status, are protected by special laws and 45% tariffs granted by the Executive. This practice, in real life, will result in massive destruction of the ability to create value through innovation and investment, which is why the CACIA demands the exclusion of all packaged foods and beverages having a content of such raw material", explained Marco Cercone, President of the CACIA.
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The Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry believes that the trade agreement could pose a threat to Costa Rican production.
From a press release by the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA):
In a letter addressed to the members of the Committee for International Relations and Foreign Trade, the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry, CACIA, once again was vehement in its opposition to the possible approval of the FTA with Colombia, by the Legislative Assembly .
After the close of negotiations, food business operators have applied for better access to raw materials and an aggressive agenda to boost competitiveness.
From a statement from the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA):
In light of the close of FTA negotiations with Colombia
Against a backdrop of strong opposition from various business sectors in Costa Rica, the negotiations have focused on market access, services, investment and rules of origin.
Nacion.com reports that "The project for signing a trade agreement with Colombia still hasnt won over the domestic private sector, which criticizes the protectionist measures that the country has and demands exclusion for some sectors."
While Costa Rican business chambers are aligned against the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, some individual firms want it.
An article in Nacion.com reports that "Several companies expressed in the consultations for the negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia their individual request to open up this market, but their viewpoint is opposed by the entire sector to which they belong.
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