The determination of how much and how the minimum wage should be regulated, something that occasionally seems to be done in an arbitrary manner and for political purposes, continues to be one of the factors that most confront Central American businessmen and governments.
In Costa Rica, a 3% increase in the minimum wage was approved for 2019; in El Salvador, an increase is expected to be discussed, and in Guatemala, the commission in charge of the issue reported that no increases will be made this year.
To reduce production costs, the Guatemalan coffee association will implement a climate information system to provide access to more specific forecasts in coffee-growing areas.
According to the National Coffee Association (Anacafé) with the implementation of more weather stations in small coffee areas of the country, the costs of grain production could be reduced between 10% and 15%.
The Morales administration has announced that in February they will resume talks with the Peruvian government to complete the ratification process of the agreement signed in 2011.
The main factor that has delayed the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between Guatemala and Peru has to do with the conflict that arose in 2013 due to the tariffs imposed by the Andean nation on the import of sugar from Guatemala, which resulted in the Guatemalan government filing a complaintwith the WTO.
Businessmen have complained to the Executive office about the slowness and inefficiency of customs inspections of the country, where containers are retained for up to 15 days.
The truckers blockade which paralyzed customs offices in Jutiapa for a week, has made entrepreneurs question the efficiency of border posts in the country because of the time invested in land transport. They claim the process is slow and makes products more expensive as well as harming the competitiveness of the country.
A proposal to create a temporary tax to fund the fight against corruption has sparked the reaction of entrepreneurs, who are demanding that "the house be cleaned first."
An article on Prensalibre.com reported that the president of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), Jorge Briz said: "Before another tax, you must first clean house. Every year the Government and the State have more income tax issues, but there are fewer results. "
The Tax Authority (SAT) owes to domestic exporters about $313 million in tax credit refunds.
This was explained by the superintendent Carlos Muñoz, adding that "... this amount represents the backlog in tax credit refunds of Value Added Tax (VAT) to Exporters and there are cases which have been awaiting payment since 2011," noted an article in PrensaLibre.com.
The Government will provide $5 million to support small coffee producers affected by the plague, and is looking at reducing the rates of the loans granted by the Coffee Trust to 2%.
The Guatemalan government today declared a phytosanitary emergency because of the rust attack while offering $5 million to support small coffee producers.
In Guatemala, the Constitutional Court has accepted an appeal filed by businessmen and suspended the application of Article 61 of the taxreform.
Unanimously and provisionally, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ordered the suspension of Article 61 of the Tax Reform related to reclassification of operations after considering it "patently unconstitutional."
In light of the spread of rust in coffee fields and a drop in international prices, the coffee sector is asking the government to provide support measures.
The president of the National Coffee Association (Anacafe), Nils Leporowski, said it will take their requests to the Cabinet of Government, among which are special considerations in the payment of taxes and exemptions for the importation of chemicals to combat the plague.
The topic of coffee will be excluded from the last round of negotiations for approval of the FTA with Mexico.
The Deputy Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade, at the Ministry of Economy, Raul Trejo noted that the issue is no longer one of trade but politics. "Although Mexican authorities claim that an opening can be made for the entry of the Guatemalan aromatic when producers of both countries reach an agreement for provision in both markets."
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