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.
Palm oil and almonds, chicken meat and horticultural products are some of the goods with great potential to be exported to Mexico.
"We want to make Honduras a complementary market. Honduras produces excellent primary products and in that sense, the opening is clear," said Victor Hugo Morales, Mexico's ambassador.
He added that the Central American nation could exploit the era of shortages in agribusiness which has been affected mainly because of health issues. "... If Honduras has enough supply it could supply the Mexican market," he added.
Negotiations for the commercial understanding between the two nations have started off in a positive light.
Prensa.com reports: "Some of the negotiation issues that were addressed in the first session were: national treatment and market access for goods, rules of origin and procedures, technical barriers to trade and trade defense".
During the round of negotiations held in Panama, also discussed were issues such as e-commerce, cross-border financial services, telecommunications, government procurement, investment, dispute resolution, intellectual property, competition policy, state enterprises and institutional issues.
Panama's aspiration to join, as a full member, the Pacific Alliance has led to the resumption of negotiations which were interrupted in 2003.
The two nations have the first round of negotiations scheduled for 27 July in Panama City.
Prensa.com reports: "Although in 2003 the negotiations for an FTA were suspended because of differences over tax issues when the talks were 80% advanced, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ricardo Quijano, said that the process "will start from scratch".
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 trade agreement will bring one of the most dynamic economies in the world, which has a per capita GDP close to $51,000, closer to the Costa Rican economy.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (COMEX):
Monday, July 1, will see the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Costa Rica and Singapore, which brings the Costa Rican economy closer to one of the largest in the world.
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.