The Ministry of Economy found that Costa Rican Dos Pinos had dumped, but ruled out sanctions, arguing that no damage was caused to sales or local production.
The investigation process was carried out by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador, derived from the complaint filed in 2017 by the Salvadoran Cooperativa Ganadera de Sonsonate, de RL de CV against the Costa Rican Cooperativa de Productores de Leche Dos Pinos and the local distributor Comersal.
It is announced that technical groups from the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala began negotiations in London to conclude a new trade agreement.
Now, there is a possibility that the agreement the region seeks to sign with the European country will not be consolidated, since it is not yet clear how the process of Britain's exit from the European Union will be carried out, an issue that is generating great tension between the British Parliament and Prime Minister, Theresa May, at this very moment.
Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have yet to finalize their Customs Union, since this week a new round of negotiations began in which they will follow up on the project to implement the advance declaration.
Although in December 2018 it was reported that the El Poy integrated border post in Chalatenango, the first to have the necessary infrastructure to operate within the framework of the customs integration of the Northern Triangle, began operating in El Salvador, the unification process is currently under negotiation among the countries.
After several rounds of negotiations, El Salvador formally joined the Customs Union process with Guatemala and Honduras, so it will have to adjust its systems to the community information platform.
Authorities from the countries of the Northern Triangle reported that since November 20th, El Salvador has been fully incorporated legally and administratively into the process of Deep Integration of the Customs Union between Guatemala and Honduras.
It has been estimated that since the crisis began in Nicaragua, losses in trade between Nicaraguan and Salvadoran companies amount to $12 million.
The cheese and milk trade is the area that has been most affected by the socio-political crisis occurring in Nicaragua.According to representatives from the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador, losses in bilateral trade not only of cheese and milk, but also of other goods, amount to $12 million.
In El Salvador, the Ministry of Economy has started an investigation into alleged dumping practices, after Cooperativa Ganadera de Sonsonate filed a complaint against the Costa Rican company Dos Pinos.
The Ministry of Economy ordered an investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices in the dairy products market, specifically related to sales of fluid milk, in the period between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
Negotiations have started to incorporate El Salvador into the Customs Union that is already functioning, albeit partially and with some setbacks, between Guatemala and Honduras.
Internal taxes, customs procedures, migration, tariffs and sanitary and phytosanitary permits are some of the issues to be addressed in the first round of negotiations between the Salvadoran government and its Guatemalan and Honduran counterparts.
The government announced that it will carry out a review of the goods produced locally and those imported, in order to evaluate the option of raising tariffs to "protect domestic production."
The government's proposal is to analyze what goods are produced in the country and which are imported in order to raise taxes on the entry of goods which are in direct competition with local production.Tharsis Lopez said"...'I asked for a study of those products manufactured here, either in free zones or outside of them, to see the levels of tariffs or taxes that have to be introduced on those products. Why?To increase these tariffs'. "
The Chinese tariff for unroasted coffee dropped from 50% to 8%, medicines decreased from 30% to 4%, fishmeal from 11% to 2% and plastics, from 50% to 6.5%.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The Ministry of Economy held an event with the aim of publicizing new business opportunities that have emerged in the mainland market, after El Salvador decided to raise the tariff reserve in place since 2001 on products of Chinese origin.
Representatives from the Chinese conglomerate CITIC Group visiting El Salvador met with the government in order to find out about business opportunities existing in the country.
From a statement issued by the Agency for Export and Investment Promotion of El Salvador (PROESA):
The Government of El Salvador, through a team of heads of various institutions, received today a delegation from CITIC Group, a conglomerate originating in China which has become a transnational, and which does business in 56 categories, both financial and non-financial. With the intention of showcasing the advantages of El Salvador as an investment destination the group's agenda begins with a meeting with William Granadino, president of the Promotion Agency for Export and Investment in El Salvador (PROESA); Luz Estrella Rodríguez, Deputy Minister of Economy (MINEC) and Marta Evelyn de Rivera, vice president of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR).
Negotiations concluded with agreements made on Market Access, Rules of Origin, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade Protection, Cooperation and Dispute Resolution.
The Partial Scope Agreement (AAP by its initials in Spanish) is at the stage of starting the process of legal review and it is expected that in the coming weeks it will be ratified by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador and the members of CARICOM in Trinidad and Tobago.
Both countries have already submitted formal documents in which Costa Rica denounces the non-application of tariff preferences on juices and tires exported to El Salvador under the CAFTA agreement.
Now that the formal documents have been presented, representatives from the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador will await resolutions and new dates to proceed with the arbitration.
The Salvadoran sugar sector has exported the first 16,000 tonnes of a quota of 25,087 tonnes which corresponds to the country for 2014.
From a press release by the Ministry of Economy (MINEC):
El Salvador has exported 16 thousand tons of bulk sugar thanks to the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union
The Ministry of Economy and the Sugar Association of El Salvador too part this May 13, in the dispatch in the Port of Acajutla, of the first ship carrying 16,000 metric tons of raw sugar as part of the El Salvador's quota for 2014 with the European Union. This delivery is part of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (ADA), which came into force on 1 October for Costa Rica and El Salvador.
An increase in non- traditional exports offset the fall in foreign sales of traditional products.
According to the report entitled "Trends in Foreign Trade in 2013 in El Salvador" prepared by the Ministry of Economy (Minec) exports in 2013 totaled $5.491 billion, an increase of 2.8 % compared to 2012, when the total figure was $5.339 billion .
$3.908 billion worth of non-traditional products were exported last year, while in 2012 the figure was $3.765 billion. Exports of traditional products were down $42 million, totaling $424.9 million in 2013.
During 2013 foreign sales of 2 thousand tons generated revenues of $6.1 million.
Data from the Ministry of Economy (Minec) reveals that in recent years Salvadoran honey has gained ground especially in the European market. During 2013 foreign sales of the product generated revenues of $6.1 million, which is 29% more than in 2012, when $4.7 million worth was sold.