It is time for transparent information to be given on which Central American governments continue to obstruct the essential unification of border formalities.
EDITORIAL
The Council of Ministers for Economic Integration (Comieco) which met in Managua on September 4 and 5 ended, as always happens in these meetings with public officials, with a statement of good intentions including promises to "work on the standardization of procedures at border posts and a regional strategy for trade facilitation," objectives which have been stated often and which up to now are far from being realised.
In order to expedite intraregional trade it is necessary for customs offices dealing with cargo freight, to be open all hours, just as immigration customs offices are.
A study commissioned by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (Fecamco) concluded that there are 87 barriers to trade in the region, one of the major ones being operations of the systems at customs offices at borders, followed by bureaucratic requirements and lack of adequate infrastructure.
On June 27, business leaders from the region will present their proposals to the presidents for improving and eliminating barriers to intraregional trade.
In the meeting with the presidents from the region scheduled for June 27 in the Dominican Republic, guilds that make up the Federation of Private Entities of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (FEDEPRICAP), will describe once again the obstacles that currently limit the competitiveness of Central American companies.
A Central American Economic Integration Situation Report details legal and institutional frameworks, trade of goods and the Central American Customs Unification process.
The report by the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat among other things refers to:
LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS
-General Treaty of Central American Economic Integration.
The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America has met in Managua, to discuss proposals and initiatives to overcome barriers of various kinds to trade on the isthmus.
"The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Nicaragua (CACONIC), Mario Gonzalez, said that employers are looking for strategies to strongly influence their respective governments with the aim of stopping them from blocking regional trade, including the closure of the borders, for political reasons or non-tariff related barriers," reported La Prensa in its online edition.
Regional trade grew 6% in the first 6 months of the year compared to the same period of 2009.
According to information from the Central American Economic Integration Department (SIECA), between January and June of this year, trade reached $ 2,844 million, $ 165 million higher than the same period of 2009.
"In the first half of 2009, sales among Central American countries reached U.S. $ 2,679.5 million" Prensalibre.com stated in their article.
Improvements to infrastructure, consolidation of regional integration and increasing its competiveness are a few of the challenges faced by Central America.
The world economic crisis was felt by the region with a 29% drop in exports and 13% less imports, according to data from Central American central banks.
Journalist Leonel Díaz Zeceña analyzes the issues in his article for Prensa Libre and reports comments from businesses and analysts.
Honduras' president-elect, Porfirio Lobo, will meet next Friday with 30 businessmen from Central America.
The event will take place at Hotel Camino Real, in Guatemala City, and will feature the participation of companies who are members of Fecamco (Chamber of Commerce of the Central American Isthmus).
Jorge Daboud, Fecamco president, told Prensalibre.com "...that some of the topics they will discuss include investment, integration, security, economy, strengthening institutions and the Association Agreement with the European Union".
After completing bilateral treaties with the other countries in the region, the next step is full incorporation into the Secretariat for Economic Integration in Central America (SIECA).
The minister of Trade and Industry, Gisela, Porras, stated to Prensa.com: "Even so, it will take a "prudential period" to conclude the incorporation into SIECA.
"We believe that it is important for the sector to be prepared to make this step, because we are not only deal with commercial integration with the rest of Central America. It is an integration to create one region which has consequence and we must ensure that the private and government sectors are in agreement," said Porras.