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."
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 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.
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.
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.
Starting on July 1st, Panama will once again enjoy preferential tariff access to the European market, after losing this benefit on 2008, for failing to renew it on time.
The U.S. Government extended Panama’s tariff benefits for apparel goods until September 2020.
In order to export textile goods with zero tariffs, Panama may not use more than 200 million meters of fabric imported from other nations, informed the Commerce Ministry.
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.
A series of tariff benefits granted by the European Union to El Salvador, under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP+) will be extended until 2011.
An investigation by the EU concluded that El Salvador complies with labor rights established in Article 2 of the International Labour Organization.
The government requested an extension of the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), until the FTA is ratified.
Roberto Henríquez, Commerce and Industries Ministry, said that "This commercial program is of utmost importance for Panama's exporters until the U.S. ratifies the Free Trade Agreement, which will strengthen even more our trade relationship with the North American market".
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.
To date, 100 requests have been made that represent about $300,000, but the government has not made any payments.
The eurocertification mechanism was implemented six months after the country was excluded from the Generalized System of Preferences (SGP-Plus) that is granted by the European Union.
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