The country will ask the European Union to discuss the geographical designations in parallel so that the agreement can enter into force in December.
This was explained by Estuardo Castillo, president of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), who added that "this is what Costa Rica did and there was a good result."
"... he also said that if that does not happen, it is possible to negotiate the extension of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP +), however, he said that with this system only 52% of the cuotas pay less taxes and quotas for sugar, shrimp , honey and agricultural products could be granted to other countries ", reported Prensalibre.com.
Given the uncertainty about the date of entry into force of the Association Agreement with the EU, the country is seeking to ensure the validity of the Generalized System of Preferences.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP Plus) expires on December 31, 2013 for which reason the country has asked for a two year extension.
"For the moment GSP-Plus is being used, because it is not known what could happen with the entry into force of the trade pillar of the Association Agreement, therefore, through our embassy in Belgium, a request for a two year extension has been made," said Luisa Flores, Deputy Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP +) will extend for a further two years from 2012, until the Association Agreement with the EU becomes active.
The director of trade policy at the El Salvadoran Ministry of Economy, Carlos Moreno, said that once the country’s Assembly has ratified the Association Agreement with the EU, the GSP + will lose its scope.
If the European Union does not make more flexible its postures, Guatemala would request Central America to push back the signature of the agreement.
Economy Minister Rubén Morales stated that if the country does not receive more benefits than the current Generalized Preference System (SGP-plus), Guatemala could recommend against signing the agreement.
The European Union is not willing to include already existing benefits in the Association Agreement with Central America.
Cencit, a Guatemalan commission which studies international treaties, remarked that losing the existing trade benefits would be counterproductive for the region. These include European market access for products manufactured in Central American free zones and maquilas.
The European Union does not accept the proposal for special regimes within the framework of negotiations with the Isthmus.
The regional proposal which includes the export of production under special regimes, including free zones, has become a new impasse in negotiations between the EU and CA.
The proposal was rejected by the Europeans during a mini-round on Rules of Origin, which included representatives from the Governments of both groups, that was held from December 3-5 in Brussels, Belgium.
The main result of the meeting held in Guatemala in October was the longed-for SGP+ for CA.
During the V Round of the Association Agreement between Central America (CA) and the European Union (EU) the biggest advancement regarding trade was the EU's offer of making 94% of the products tariff-free. In return, the Eu demanded a similar opening by CA.
Central American businessmen say that "there are still strategic interests in the region that have not been dealt with by European negotiators."
On day four of the XIV Central America planning session for the Association Agreement with Europe, Julio Aguilar, negotiator for the International Commercial Negotiations Business Center (Cencit), said that while Central America continues to broaden its offer to their European counterparts, not at more that 80% of the products on the tariff list, Europe has still not guaranteed the whether all the benefits derived from the General Preference System Plus (SGP Plus) will be maintained.
At Tuesday's opening of the fourth round of Central America-Europe trade talks in Brussels, Europe granted preferential treatment to a list of Central American products and consolidated 99 percent of its offer.
Johanna Hill, spokesperson for the Central Americans and chief negotiator for El Salvador, said Costa Rica, the country that sells the most to Europe, insists that current access is not reflected in the offer.
Trade representatives of Central American nations are meeting in El Salvador this week to discuss a proposal to offer an 80 percent opening of their markets to the European Union.
The proposal, which would leave 20 percent of the region's products as a margin for negotiation, will be the second sent to the Europeans within talks on an association agreement.