Tariffs have been temporarily removed for the import of lemons and green tomatoes, while there will be new quota of 300.000 tons for foreign chicken.
From a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy of Mexico (SE):
At a press conference, the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, the Deputy Minister of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance, Miguel Messmacher and Undersecretary of Agriculture of Sagarpa, Jesus Aguilar Padilla, announced the measures implemented by the Government of the Republic to help contribute to stabilizing prices and meeting the increased demand for some commodities.
Honduras and Nicaragua will be the first countries to export to the European market under the preferential tariff agreed between the two regions.
The agreement will be effective only in these two countries, as the parliaments of the rest of the region have not yet ratified it.
Both nations also will benefit from use of the regional quotas agreed for products such as meat, tuna, rice, sugar, sweet corn, preserved mushrooms, cassava flour, fresh or chilled garlic, among others, which can enter without paying tariffs.
The AACUE now must be approved by the legislatures of the countries involved.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica (COMEX) reads:
Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union ready for signing
San Jose, June 25, 2012. Today the Council of Ministers of the European Union authorized the signing of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (EU-CAAA) on Friday June 29 in Honduras. The Ministers of Foreign Trade and the Foreign Ministers of the region will sign the document, along with the Trade Commissioner of the European Union and the Danish Foreign Minister, in a formal ceremony under the framework of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of member countries of the System for Central American Integration (SICA).
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.
Although a WTO ruling said that the taxes and polypropylene bags and tubular fabric from Central America violate their rules, they will not be removed until April 2012.
The Dominican Republic has announced that it will keep the tariffs on tubular fabric and polypropylene products from Central America in place until April, even though the World Trade Organization (WTO) considers that they have violated international trade rules, according to the AP as reported by the online edition La Prensa Grafica.
The system provides useful tariff information for importing goods and services in Central America.
The system provides useful tariff information for importing goods and services in Central America.
Dubbed AIC (“Arancel Informatizado Centroamericano”), this tool lets users find out which tariffs must be paid and what other requisites are required to import goods in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
From the 11th to the 13th of February, advancement will be pursued regarding the integration of customs and the duties for bananas and sugar, issues still pending in the negotiations with the EU.
PrensaLibre.com publishes in its website: "The Vice President and Panamanian Chancellor, Samuel Lewis Navarre, declared that there still is not a concrete date scheduled for the next round that Central America and the EU will coordinate in an attempt to achieve progress in negotiations and to conclude the talks next May, as they have had anticipated."
Jorge Daboub, president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce, speaks about the benefits of the recent Customs Union between Guatemala and El Salvador.
Urías M. Gamarro, in a phone interview for PrensaLibre.com, asks him: "What are the most important benefits brought by this iniciative?"
"From 2002 to 2008, commerce between both countries has tripled, meaning that this Central American Union efforts are very important when facing the adversity of the world economy. I think it will be very positive for both countries and will force the rest of the countries to integrate."
The negotiations are entering the final phase after yesterday's presentation of the sugar and banana offer by the EU.
Nacion.com reports: "This has do with a quota which did not surpass, nor meet, the aspirations of Central America.
Ocampo highlighted, however, that with yesterday's presentation of the sugar offer and the banana offer on Monday, almost all of the Isthmus' interests have been put on the table."
At the same time that they are making the final step in the elimination of the border for the passage of goods, both countries are calling on the rest of Central America to do the same.
The article in Mipunto.com says that "In Central America, El Salvador and Guatemala have led the customs unification process, which has been contemplated and pushed for since 2003 in the region." ...
The poultry and dairy industries of Central America are seeking special or exclusive treatment for imported products in the trade agreement being negotiated with the European Union.
"Dairy companies have asked for special treatment, and are sticking with their position," said Rigoberto Monge, a member of Central America's negotiating team.
Livestock producers and industrialists of Central America are considering an exclusion since 2007, when they met in El Salvador to consider tariff issues.