After Guatemala paid off its debt to Teco Energy, the $15.75 million embargo was lifted, resources that the country had allocated for interest payments from some Eurobond holders.
Arguing that from 2008 to 2013 the Guatemalan National Energy Commission set a maximum amount that electricity distribution companies could charge the user, Teco Energy, a company that was a shareholder of Empresa Electrica de Guatemala, sued the country internationally.
After receiving a ruling opposing the international arbitration disputed with Teco Energy, the New York State Supreme Court ordered the seizure of $15.75 million from Guatemala.
Teco Energy is a company that was a shareholder of Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala and years ago claimed international arbitration, arguing that from 2008 to 2013 the National Energy Commission set a maximum amount that energy distribution companies could charge the user.
A deferral has been made for a compliance panel which was requested by Panama to verify whether or not Colombia has complied with the WTO ruling in the dispute over Panamanian textile and footwear tariffs.
Laestrella.com.pa reports that "...Panama called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a panel to determine whether or not Colombia complied with the organization's ruling which put pressure on Bogotá to withdraw a tariff on imports of Panamanian textiles, clothing and footwear."
A new ruling by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes requires the mining company OceanaGold to pay interest on the $8 million it owes to the Salvadoran State.
From a statement issued by the Comptroller General of the Republic:
The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has reported that the mining company Oceana Gold (formerly Pacific Rim) must pay interest to the State of El Salvador on the legal costs owed by the aforementioned transnational.
The Mexican government has filed a complaint with the WTO against Costa Rica over the imposition of restrictions on imports of avocados, in place since May 2014.
Mexican authorities are tired of waiting and have decided to initiate a process with the World Trade Organization in order to resolve the problem, only days after Costa Rica suggested, as a possible solution to the conflict, the implementation of a laboratory test for imports of the fruit.
The ICSID Arbitral Tribunal has ruled that the Costa Rican government did not cause damage to the company of Swiss capital, Gas Nacional Zeta, which sought damages of $75 million for disagreements over the LP gas tariff setting.
In 2013 the company of Swiss capital sued the Costa Rican government over disagreements on the tariff setting and safety requirements.
Preventing the participation of Colombian companies in the tender processes is one of the actions proposed by Panamanian businessmen as a retaliatory measure to the conflict over tariffs.
"More forceful and effective action"is what the Panamanian Association of Business Executives is demanding of the Varela government, to defend the interests of Panama in the conflict over thecollection of fees in Colombia on imports of textiles and footwearcoming from the Colon Free Zone.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes has ruled in favor of El Salvador in the dispute with the mining company OceanaGold, owner of the El Dorado gold mine.
From a press release by OceanaGold Corporation:
(MELBOURNE) OceanaGold Corporation (TSX/ASX/NZX: OGC) (the “Company”) has been advised that the arbitration tribunal constituted by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) has found in favour of the Government of El Salvador (the “Government”) in its dispute with an OceanaGold indirect subsidiary company, Pac Rim Cayman LLC. ICSID granted an award of US$8 million to the Government of El Salvador to cover its legal fees and costs.
The G20 finance ministers gave full support to the project that would prevent corporate profits from "disappearing" or being artificially transferred to jurisdictions with low or no taxation.
From the press release issued by the G-20:
During a meeting chaired by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cevdet Yilmaz, the G20 finance ministers expressed strong support for the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, which provides governments with solutions for closing the gaps in existing international rules that allow corporate profits to « disappear » or be artificially shifted to low/no tax environments, where little or no economic activity takes place.
The event which will be held from February 22nd to 24th in San José will focus on the practice of international arbitration in resolving contractual problems in construction projects.
From a statement issued by the International Chamber of Commerce in Costa Rica (ICC):
Among the topics to be discussed during this conference are arbitration in Latin America and its current status, recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in Latin America, the rules of the ICC Dispute Board: the case of the Channel Tunnel, the characteristics of disputes in the construction industry, the future of the Committees of Disputes in Latin America, the resolution of disputes in FIDIC construction contracts, among other things.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions is demanding regulatory approval so that the country will not be excluded from the international money market.
The stock market has a need for exchange of information in order to comply with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which requires its members to have a mechanism to determine who is the beneficiary of a transaction.
Signing of the treaty is aimed at improving the control of the criminal offenses committed through the Internet.
This week Panama became the second Latin American country after the Dominican Republic, to sign the European Convention on Cybercrime, the first international treaty on criminal offenses committed on the Internet.
"The main objective of the treaty also known as the Budapest Convention, named after the Hungarian capital where it was first signed in 2001, is to reach a common criminal policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime, through the adoption of appropriate legislation and stimulation of international cooperation. "
Increased prices are predicted along with less variety in drugs and agrochemicals because of the progressive protection of patent rights.
Román Macaya, director of the National Chamber of Generic Producers (Canaproge) explained that at the end of this decade the market will feel an impact on the protection of branded drugs and agrochemicals. The changes will occur due to the agreed extension of rights in the FTA between the U.S., Central America and the Dominican Republic.
The World Trade Organization will form a panel to look into Panama's complaint over Colombian tariffs on textiles and footwear from the Colon Free Zone.
In August Panama asked the WTO to form an international panel.
At the request of Colombia it has not yet been defined who will make up the panel.
According to the WTO, Colombia has said the parties were willing to find a solution to the conflict but regreted that Panama submitted its application for a panel .
The map on the internet which offered oil concessions in geographical areas who's sovereignty is disputed has been removed.
For its part, and after an exchange of notes between both governments, Colombia has acknowledged that the concessions given so far by Nicaragua are from areas where
Nicaraguan sovereignty has not been disputed.
"I want to be very clear and emphatic on this: the concessions granted by the government of Nicaragua in July this year are concessions that are west of the 82nd meridian," said Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.