Although the subject of the Colon Free Zone remains an obstacle, next Tuesday will see the start of the seventh round of negotiations on the free trade agreement between the two countries.
Panama's interest in joining the Pacific Alliance forces it to close a FTA with each of its members, including Colombia.
After the sixth round of negotiations, held in Colombia in March, the Colombian delegation welcomed the progress on customs cooperation and mutual assistance, but the issue of the Colon Free Zone (CFZ) continued without an agreement between both parties.
Textile businessmen say the new free zones law has caught the interest of investors and will strengthen the productive chain.
Elsalvador.com reported that "despite a series of reforms promoted under the table by the Finance Minister Carlos Cáceres, which put companies operating under the Free Zone scheme on alert, the approval of the regulations as they had been agreed between the public and private sector a year ago, "is a tremendous tool (...), a tremendous engine which will make this sector take off," said the president of the Chamber of the Textile, Clothing Companies and Free Zones in El Salvador (Camtex), Jose Antonio Escobar ".
A new system for entering free zones in Costa Rica aims to streamline procedures for users by avoiding mistakes and the return of documents.
A press release issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) reads:
In order to streamline and modernize the filing of the applications for entry to free trade zones, the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) has launched a new system, which aims to provide users with a simpler way for submitting the paperwork, avoiding mistakes and the return of documents.
In El Salvador some companies will be left out of the new system introduced by the proposed reforms to the law on Free Zones.
If the draft amendment to the FTZ Act is approved, about ten companies, both national and foreign, would fall outside the new regime, said the director of the Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments in El Salvador (Proesa), Giovanni Berti.
The Zone’s directors expect more freight movement, further processing of products and employment generation.
Economic growth in the Colon Free Zone is unquestionable. The volume of exports and imports in 2011 reached $29.126 billion, growing by 56% over the past three years.
The area has about 3,000 users, which together employ 32,000 people. 75% of goods entering the zone are redistributed to other destinations in the world, while the remaining amount enters Panama.
More businessmen are considering setting up in industrial zones in the Panamanian province, where with an investment of $250,000 and two hectares of land they can install themselves in a free zone.
Law 32 of 5th April 2009 allows holders of an area of two hectares, plus an investment of $250,000, to establish free trade zones, which, according to several businesses, is a good option for a province under development, reports Prensa.com.
ProNicaragua seeks to attract companies from the footwear and auto parts industry to operate in the country's free zones.
Javier Chamorro, Executive Director of the investment promotion agency, ProNicaragua, noted that they are seeking to "generate development poles" in these two sectors.
The meeting with business people from the automotive sector is scheduled for February and aims to gather 15 companies, while the footwear event will take place in June and will bring together about 45 companies from Asia, Europe, the USA and South America.
The Foreign Trade Promoter has revealed in a study the benefits that free trade zones contribute to the country, including the 58 thousand jobs that pay 60% above the average private sector salary.
From a press release by PROCOMER:
A study by PROCOMER reveals the benefits of free zones in Costa Rica:
- Companies under this regime have become a source of employment for 58,000 Costa Ricans whose wages are 60% higher (1.6 times) than the average national wage in the private sector.
The tender originally scheduled for March 10 was rescheduled for April 28.
Four objections were filed in February before the Comptroller General of the Republic, which said he partially accepted three of the four claims. This prompted the postponement of the deadline.
"The call to concession opened in early November 2010 and has undergone several modifications which have delayed the final date for reception of offers,” reported Nacion.com.
Four objections to the terms and conditions of the tender were filed with the Comptroller General of the Republic.
The tender opened last November and ending on March 10 is to award concession of 38 Commercial Deposit stores in the free economic area of Golfito.
"The apprehensions submitted request modifying the rules to include all existing stores until the terms are clarified, as well as removing criteria unrelated to commercial activity," reported Nacion.com.
The 2008 project to develop a business park in the north is still stalled.
Representatives of the project explained the reasons for the delay, from the global economic crisis which began in late 2008 to the lack of road infrastructure and energy.
On energy, Coopelesca plans to begin in February the construction of a 20 MW facility, which would be ready in 20 months.
Construction of the Limon Free Zone, located close to the Búfalo locality, will start in October.
Its infrastructure will be developed by Guanazul JRV S.A., explained Marcela Brooks, legal head at Costa Rica’s exports promotion authority (Procomer).
“This corporation is negotiating with foreign companies looking to operate under the free zone regime, although Brooks didn’t revealed any names”, reported Elfinancierocr.com.
The closure of duty-free stores in land based customs, hotels and shopping centers is thought to be the reason for the rise.
In February 2010, the Honduran Tax Revenue Service board of directors suspended the contracts of tax-free shopping stores after receiving complaints that these businesses were often linked with the illegal trade in cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.