Starting from April the South American country will start implementing a timetable for elimination of the safeguard for balance of payments, reducing the current tariff levels from 15% to 10% and from 35% to 23.3%.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Ecuador:
From April 2017 the schedule for dismantling of the safeguard measure will be implemented for balance of payments, reducing the current tariff levels from 15% to 10.0% and from 35% to 23.3%.In this regard, the reduction will apply to established customs declarations submitted from April 1, 2017.
On January 1, 2017 the new nomenclature comes into force, which extends codes used in the Tariff System to 10 digits.
From a statement issued by the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI):
The Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI) held on this day a conference with the aim of informing its members about the implementation of the Sixth Amendment to the nomenclature in the System for Tariff Description and Coding (SAC) and the enlargement to ten digits of the codes for goods that are exported and imported.
Factors such as production costs and labor, as well as security and economic stability seem to be more relevant to the textile companies that choose the country than tariff benefits.
The expiry on December 31 of the Tariff Preference Level (TPL) with the United States has not impacted the textile industry, as initially expected at least so far. According to the Nicaraguan Association of Textile and Apparel Industry (Anitec), the country still has attractive conditions for foreign investment in this sector.
80% of Peruvian exports enter duty free immediately and the rest will gradually be exempt from tariffs which will be eliminated completely within 10 years.
"... Asparagus, artichokes, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, quinoa, amaranth, paprika, coffee, Giant Cusco corn, purple corn, lacquer dyes, brighteners, essential oils, chemical inputs, varnishes and paints, plastic containers, polymer foils , solvents, textiles for clothing, articles of iron and steel, goods manufactured from copper, among other things ... " are some of the Peruvian products that will start to enter the Honduran market under the FTA scheme between both countries.
The government is seeking US support in order to improve conditions in the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to minimize the impact it will have on sectors such as textiles.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador (MINEC):
The Minister of Economy, Tharsis Solomon Lopez began a series of meetings in Washington DC with Senators, Congressmen, trade officials from the US Government and private entities, in order to present the position of the Salvadoran government in the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, known by its acronym TPP, in relation to the impact it could have on Salvadoran exports carried out under the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, known as CAFTA-DR.
Textile companies operating in free zones are preparing adjustments such as reductions in production lines in order adapt supplies in the event of the loss of tariff preference level, or TPL.
Although the timeframe for the expiration of the Tarriff Preference Level system with the United States is December 31, several companies are already starting to take steps to adjust their production in anticipation of the agreement not being renewed.
The Under Secretary of Commerce in the United States sees no need for renewal of preferential tariff arrangements, which up to now have favored Nicaragua's textile industry.
Statements by the senior official of the Obama administration fell like a bucket of cold water over textile entrepreneurs, who claim that without the renewal of TPL, production costs will increase by up to 40%.
Nicaraguan businessmen have proposed that Central America as a whole operates a preferential tariff treatment in the US for imports of textiles in the region.
After trying to negotiate, through several formats, tariff preference levels (TPL), so far unsuccessfully, textile entrepreneurs are now appealing to the union of the region to address the issue with the US once again.
In the first nine months of the year $15.9 million worth of footwear was exported, which is 26% more than in 2013.
The sector's competitiveness in terms of labor costs, incentives to industry, preferential access to key markets and strategic location of the country, are the main factors attributed to the growth in exports of Nicaraguan footwear.
The Investment Promotion Agency of Nicaragua, told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "...
Guatemalan businesses are complaining about the existence significant differences in import and export tariffs in each country and are demandig that they be leveled in order for them to compete on equal terms.
Companies argue that products from India coming into the country pay fees of 15%, and in some cases do not pay anything while to enter India, Guatemalan products incur tariffs of up to 70%, depending on the product.
With the modifications negotiated for Partial Scope Agreement Panama will obtain new preferences for 73 tariff lines and improvements in 31 lines, related to agricultural and industrial products.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Panama (ICIM):
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Meliton Arrocha, expressed his satisfaction at the completion of negotiations of the First Protocol Amending the Partial Scope Agreement with the Republic of Cuba, at the formal signing ceremony to be held in Havana, Cuba, November 7.
The country wants to take advantage of the tariff preferences it has to export shoes to the United States and the European Union so as to attract foreign investment to the sector and turn it into an export platform.
From a statement by Pro Nicaragua:
All footwear manufactured in Nicaragua has duty free access to the United States, the European Union and other important markets.
Analysis of the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the region.
The competition which sectors such as textiles could face is one of the elements raising questions among employers in the region, compared to the real benefits that could be accrued if Central America participates in the Strategic Economic Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The presence of direct competitors, such as countries like Vietnam, in the textile sector, and the possibility of losing dominance in the American market due to trade rules that TPP countries must meet, is unsettling the productive sectors in the region and forcing a reckoning of the pros and cons of a possible entry to the block to be undertaken.
The possibility that the United States will not renew tariff preferences for Nicaraguan textiles at the end of the year is forcing the industry to prepare changes to their production schedule.
Although there is a possibility that the United States will grant an extension of the benefits of the Tariff Preference Level (TPL), if they are not renewed, starting January 1st, 2015 the Nicaraguan textile sector may no longer sell to United States products made from raw materials from countries that are not part of DR-CAFTA.
The meeting of the Presidents Santos and Varela made it clear that there will be no immediate solution to the problem of the tariffs Colombia is imposing on imports of footwear and textiles from the Colon Free Zone.
Companies operating in the Free Zone of Colon have seen their sales to Colombia decrease dramatically since the government of that country imposed a protective tariff on all imports of footwear and textiles from countries with which the country does not have a free trade agreement in place. The measure already has been implemented now for nearly two years, removing competitiveness of exports by traders from the CFZ.