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 Costa Rican export sector will request an extension of GSP+ before December 2013, if the approval of the FTA with the EU is delayed.
The Association Agreement with Europe, which must be ratified by the Legislature, will be entering the plenary for discussion in the first quarter of 2012.
"From that date until December 31, 2013 the document must receive Commission approval, go through two rounds of debates, and go to the Constitutional Court for consultation. To this must be added the time it takes for publication in La Gaceta, the subsequent exchange of diplomatic notes, and regional coordination with national institutions to implement what was negotiated", reported Elfinancierocr.com.
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.
El Salvador will sell goods to Europe, over the next 2 years, under the terms of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Association Agreement.
For two years Salvadoran businessmen to sell their products in Europe may do so not only with the GSP benefits, but also the benefits of the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union.
While both schemes improve conditions under which exports can be made to Europe, the Partnership Agreement, which was negotiated with the Central American countries, produces better long-term benefits, as it is an agreement of longer duration and permanence.
The EU extended the GSP Plus program, which gives Costa Rican products preferential access to the European market, until December 2013.
The final vote by the European Chamber will be in late March.
The Special Incentive Scheme for Sustainable Development and Governance (GSP Plus) is a unilateral and temporary system in which the EU grants preferential access to its market to certain products from developing countries.
The country will ask the EU to extend the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance, known as GSP+, which expires in 2012.
The measure is a back up in case the Association Agreement (or AA for short) is not approved by this date.
"According to Costa Rica's Vice-minister for Trade, Fernando Ocampo, the EU process is not moving as swiftly as we would like or expected," reports Prensa Libre.
Between July 20 and 21, the Government of Panama would deliver the first Euro Certificates to agricultural exporters.
The Euro Bonds or Euro Certificates were created seven months ago, after the country was excluded from the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (SGP-Plus). They can be used by agricultural exporters to pay taxes and to request credit at banks, among others.
In 2009, the Costa Rican company is planning to consolidate its brand in the UK, Spain and Germany.
According to reports on nacion.com "Sardimar also plans to sell Tonnino, its gourmet tuna, in Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg, said Gabriela Munoz, Business Development manager at the company.
"These are countries with characteristics that are similar to the market we are already in, and they consume a significant amount of canned fish," she commented."
Costa Rica requested for the Special Stimulus System for Sustainable Development and Governance (SGP Plus) for the 2009-2001 period.
Under this system, which expires in December of this year, Costa Rica continues exporting a significant number of national products the the EU under a preferential tariff system until the negotiations for the Association Agreement which are currently underway are completed.