Since the beggining of the FTA Guatemalan exports to Colombia have increased by 4.6% annually, while Colombian goods going to Guatemala have risen by 23.9% annually.
From a statement issued by the Government of Guatemala:
It has now been five years since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement-FTA- between the Republics of Guatemala and Colombia which has fostered the expansion and diversification of trade in goods and services between the two countries by removing trade barriers.
The Guatemalan Exports Association is organizing a course to show in detail how to meet the requirements for exporting under the terms of the FTA.
In order to find out in detail the procedures for successfully gaining a certificate of origin from major FTAs and avoid problems in customs operations, the School of Foreign Trade at AGEXPORT, will hold on March 31, 2014 a course entitled: "Certificates of Origin under the main commercial treaties signed by Guatemala Export / Import".
On March 24, the Guatemalan Exporters Association will give a presentation on business opportunities in Chile.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport) reads:
The Department of Business Information and Market Intelligence AGEXPORT, INFOEXPORT in partnership with the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, PROCHILE, is to hold on March 24, 2014, a presentation on the opportunities for exports and imports in Chile and on the evolution of trade relations between the two countries since the entry into force of the FTA.
The current $550 million from the annual sales of Guatemalan products and services to Mexico could double with the entry into operation of the unified FTA between that country and the Central Americans.
Guatemalans are hoping that exports to the Aztec nation will double with the entry into force of the agreement which unifies the Mexican FTA's that were held separately with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the CA-3.
An agreement between parliamentarians has pushed forward the ratification process, which was stuck due to the resistance of the sugar industry.
"The treaty affected the sugar business, which is the reasons why the agreement could not be approved," said one of the congressmen who requested anonymity.
An article in Prensalibre.com reports that "With 113 votes in favor, the Free Trade Agreement with Peru was approved, having been postponed since the last special session, due to the fact that there was an attempt to approve it as a matter of national emergency with less votes than required by law. "
Starting from July 1 the trade agreement with Mexico, a country with which trade reaches $10 billion per year, came into effect.
The agreement "strengthens the recognition of an extended economic zone where Central America can put more products under a single origin and continue complementing each other in the production of goods and services for export to Mexico," said Anabel Gonzalez, Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister.
The Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said that approving the trade agreement between the two countries will increase bilateral trade volume.
"We hope that very soon the Congress of Guatemala will ratify it, as this will trigger trade relations to continue to grow more and more," said Peña Nieto, who during his speech at the Guatemala Investment Summit, said that in the last 12 years bilateral trade has quadrupled.
The negotiation of an agreement between the U.S. and the Trans-Pacific Partnership would enable the country to purchase cheaper textiles from Vietnam, which would disadvantage Central American companies.
In an interview with Eddy Coronado for Prensalibre.com Sergio de la Torre, Guatemala's economy minister, explained that this negotiation could undermine the conditions that the member countries of CAFTA have negotiated, jeopardizing participation of Guatemalan products in those markets.
Costa Rican exporters view positively the inclusion of new products to the FTA with Mexico, with the possibility of establishing regional production chains.
Some of the products that will be incorporated into the trade agreement are sugar, iron and steel sheets, gelatin powder, cigarettes, chicken sausages, jellies and fruit pastes. In addition, also agreed was trade in raw materials such as yogurt and powdered sour cream and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.