With the recent signing of the U.S.-Canadian-Mexican trade agreement, a precedent was set for future negotiations, as this agreement sets binding labor conditions, such as making exports subject to the payment of a minimum wage.
For example, one of the conditions of the Treaty between Mexico, United States and Canada (T-MEC), which was signed on December 10, 2019, is that vehicles exported from one state of Mexico to the other two countries "must come from plants that pay wages not less than $16 an hour.
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.
On November 12th, the VII Round of Negotiations for the inclusion of El Salvador in the integration process towards the free transit of individuals and goods between Guatemala and Honduras began in San Salvador.
The negotiations between the three countries will last the entire week and it is expected that this round of dialogues will address issues related to the customs, migration, sanitary and phytosanitary challenges facing El Salvador.
The FTA with Panama and the agreement with El Salvador, both in the negotiation stage, are part of the commercial opportunities that the Asian nation seeks to consolidate in the region in the short-term.
The third round of negotiations to conclude the trade agreement between the Central American country and the Asian nation began in Panama City. This session will deal with trade barriers, customs procedures and trade facilitation.
The practice of trying to get a discount is acceptable in some places, while in others, depending on the product or service in question, it can lead to doubts and harm negotiations.
Ariel Baños, expert in defining pricing strategies, explains that when negotiating a reduction or increase in a price, one must take into account the cultural factors of each country, which can differ greatly from one place to another. "...In some countries, such as Egypt, Morocco and India, and in Southeast Asia in general, it is common to negotiate prices on all types of products and services. It can even be considered offensive if the client pays the initial price, without even making an attempt to get some money off."
In the seventh round of negotiation all chapters were finalised and what is left pending are technical matters from the list on access and origin which will be addressed in a final meeting.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica:
San Jose, October 31, 2016.- Today the seventh round of negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Korea came to a close in Seoul, South Korea. This meeting, which took place from October 24 to 31, enabled the parties to move towards a final agreement.
In the VI round agreements were reached on the chapters on Government Procurement, Employment and Dispute Resolution, and the in next round they will define the final document for technical and legal review.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Guatemala:
Guatemala, October 5, 2016.The teams negotiating the FTA between Central America and South Korea held a sixth round of negotiations from September 26 to 30 in Managua, Nicaragua with the conclusion of three more chapters.
"Everything we do in a company to meet the goals of our strategic plan depends directly or indirectly on negotiation processes."
A proposal by Gabriel's Vallone, professor at IEEM, the Business School at the University of Montevideo, suggests that individual negotiating power should be extended in an integral - and in a manner bespoke to for each company- model covering all business prospects and interests of all of the parties involved, both external and internal ones.
Negotiations have been finalised on the environmental chapter and progress made on Trade Facilitation and the texts of the chapters on sanitary measures, technical barriers and government procurement.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of Guatemala:
Guatemala, May 30, 2016. From 23 to 27 May, the Guatemalan delegation of negotiators met with their Central American and Korean counterparts to advance negotiations of a Free Trade Agreement between Central America and South Korea.
In the third round issues such as market access, trade defense, institutional arrangements, dispute settlement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures were discussed.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica:
San Jose, March 02, 2016.- The third round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between Central America and South Korea was held from 22nd to 26th of February in San Francisco, in the United States.
Central American governments have now signed the General Framework agreement with China so that negotiations can start in October.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Guatemala:
Guatemala, July 31, 2015. Central America is prepared to negotiate as a bloc, a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea. Therefore, the deputy ministers in charge of foreign trade and trade negotiations in the region met yesterday in San Salvador, and agreed to and signed the General Framework for this negotiation.
Several years after conversations began, Central America and South Korea finally started the formal negotiations for a free trade agreement.
From a statement issued by the Government of Guatemala:
In Houston, Texas, the Minister of Economy of Guatemala, Sergio de la Torre, and his Central American counterparts in charge of foreign trade, met with Korean Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-Jick, to start negotiating the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Central American republics.
Through the SICA countries in the region are assessing the possibility of negotiating a free trade agreement with the Asian nation.
The announcement was made by Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, during the II Business Forum between the region and Japan, which included the participation of companies and government representatives from both countries.
The "fast track" granted to the trade agreements currently being negotiated by the USA, increase the urgency of Central America raising productivity and competitiveness of their businesses, particularly against Asian countries.
From now on, the US government will be accelerating adoption of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which would affect exports from Central American countries as they compete directly with the products sold by Asian nations.
The South Korean government has proposed to Central American countries that they resume negotiations to sign a free trade agreement.
During a meeting between officials of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica and the deputy minister, Moon Jaedo, of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (Motie) of South Korea, it was requested "... that the Central American countries evaluate opening up a process of negotiation for a free trade agreement. "