The Office of U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR) has given Guatemala 6 months to meet two commitments on labor issues.
Failure to comply with these provisions, included in the Free Trade Agreement, would mean the matter would proceed to arbitration.
Of the 17 commitments required by the U.S. to ensure respect for labor standards, Guatemala is compliant with 15, the two outstanding are the restoration the Ministry of Labour’s power to sanction and the establishment of a deposit for companies operating under the Maquila Law.
The Guatemalan Minister of Finance has announced the opening of a Chamber of Commerce in Tel Aviv in 2012 and the negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA).
According to opening statements by the Minister, the new Chamber of Commerce in Tel Aviv is scheduled for early next year.
"The official stated that the chamber, whose exact opening date is not known although it is believed to be before January 14, will promote the formalization of an FTA between the two countries, which will facilitate the import of agro-industrial technologies to Guatemala.
Korean owned SAE International has announced it plans to close one its five factories in Guatemala due to a mix of poor sales to the USA and high Guatemalan labor costs.
The country's Economy Minister, Luis Velázquez, announced the closure of the plant saying that the company will be opening a new factory in Haiti where it will look to hire 20,000 people.
The WTO has provisionally determined that the measures imposed by the Dominican Republic, charging tariffs of up to 38% on imports of certain products from the region, are inconsistent with its trade obligations.
The lawsuit filed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica objected to the high tariffs imposed by the Caribbean country on products from the region.
The website http://guatemala.eregulations.org provides information on procedures for conducting business in the country.
Information is detailed on procedures, costs, contacts, forms and public office documents.
The initiative is part of the e-Regulations system, driven by the Global Transparency Network.
The system is a step towards the implementation of e-government and a tool for simplifying administrative processes, by identifying unnecessary steps in the different procedures, said Romeo Rodriguez, coordinator of the National Competitiveness Program", reported Prensalibre.com.
Mexican authorities have offered only a 22% share, down from the 35% requested by Guatemala.
In the case of sugar, the difference is the percentage of quota to be assigned, wheras with coffee no agreement at all has been reached, meaning that it may be left outside of the treaty altogether.
According to an article in S21.com.gt, the Minister of Economy, Luis Velasquez, said "approval will be granted for access of cars from the Aztec territory.
The Ministry of Economy is preparing a work plan to negotiate a FTA with South Korea and the States of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
In light of statements by the representative Luis Velasquez, President of the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG), Andres Castillo said it is essential to review the benefits that these treaties would bring, taking into account that the last contracts signed were more in response to political rather than commercial interests.
The Ministry of Economy has called upon the private business sector in order to decide whether the country should finalise FTA negotiations with Canada.
Negotiations for this agreement, which have been going on for ten years, started with the participation of countries in the CA-4 (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua) and to date only Honduras has signed.
For the Ministry of Economy, it is time to conclude negotiations and finalise the FTA, which has been under negotiation for eleven years, or forget about it.
These are the words of the Minister, Luis Velasquez, given before the next meeting to be held with the Canadian minister of economy where the topic will be taken up again.
Negotiations for this agreement started with the participation of countries in the CA-4 (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua) and to date only Honduras has completed and signed an FTA.
U.S. products are arriving with certificates of origin stating they are part of NAFTA, the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which means that when they enter Guatemala they lose their tax privileges from the FTA with Central America.
The Guatemalan Minister of Economy, Luis Velasquez, has submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers of Economy of Central America (Comieco) which aims to add an amendment to DR-CAFTA on error correction mechanisms.
The Ministry of Finance has extended the deadline for the imports of duty free wheat flour until Dec 31.
The closing date had previously been set for the end of July.
"Luis Velasquez, Finance Minister, said the quota is for 25,000 metric tons (MT) of wheat flour. He added that so far 9,923 MT have been delivered and 15,76 MT are available to the public.
The Ministry of Economy is searching for legal professionals to continue the arbitration process requested by Ferrovías.
On July 7 the country must present its statement to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), but in the absence of professionals to take on the case, it has requested an extension.
"'We are looking for a favorable proposal in accordance with the interests of the state, for this reason we are evaluating a group of lawyers who wish to continue with the case which was being handled by the firm Arnold & Porter LLP’ said Velasquez.
Six new free trade zones will operate in Guatemala, making the total 24 nationwide.
The new zones are located in Guatemala, Villa Nueva, Zacapa, Quetzaltenango, Puerto Quetzal and Tecun Uman, according to Economy Minister Luis Velasquez.
An article in Siglo21.com.gt, reports, "He said that in these areas commercial activities in manufacturing, industry and services will be developed.
A first feasibility study, conducted by the Ministry of Economy in Central America, will be presented on July 7.
The report will "assess whether making a free trade agreement is warranted, seeing what will be sent and received, though we must emphasize that Korea is a very good market," said Francisco Menendez, president of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport).
The World Bank has approved a loan to finance Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The Economy Minister Luis Velasquez said it has already held meetings with various factions of the Legislature to promote the approval of the loan.
"We expect it to be dealt with next week in the Economic Cabinet and then to be sent to the Monetary Board to receive their ruling", said the representative to Sigloxxi.com.gt.