For the Central American Rice Federation, the bankruptcy of more than 62 thousand rice farmers in Central America and the Dominican Republic is imminent, due to the abolition of import tariffs, a measure that is part of the implementation of the DR-CAFTA Free Trade Agreement.
Representatives of the sector consider that if the commercial liberalization of rice cultivation continues, there will be an increase in unemployment and poverty in their agricultural areas, since more than 265,000 people depend directly on this crop and approximately 990,000 people indirectly, and foresee serious social, economic and political implications due to the effects of the Treaty.
Arguing that the unusual growth in sugar imports is harming local production, the Alvarado administration decided to raise the tariff on products entering Costa Rica from 45% to 73% for a three-year period.
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) concluded the investigation requested by the Agricultural Industrial League of Sugar Cane (LAICA) and 4 mills, on the safeguard measure against imports of solid state, granulated sugar, known as white sugar, used for domestic and industrial consumption, justifying a deterioration in the main economic indicators of the National Production Branch (RPN), details an official statement dated June 15.
In response to the authorities' consultation on the request for a safeguard measure on the import of steel products, the builders are opposed on the grounds that this would make materials more expensive, in addition to making their production inefficient.
The Panama Chamber of Commerce requested the Panama Canal Authority to postpone the start of collection of the fee for the use of fresh water in the Canal, which would begin to be paid on February 15, 2020.
On January 13, the Panama Canal Authority announced that this year "... the value of water will be incorporated into the line of other maritime services through a charge for fresh water, which will depend on the availability of the resource at the time of the vessel's transit. The freshwater charge is applicable to all vessels over 125 feet in length that transit the Canal:
As of January 2020, electric vehicles imported into El Salvador and Honduras will be exempt from the import duty, which was 30% in El Salvador until now.
The measure, which will be applied in both countries, was approved at the session of the Council of Ministers of Economic Integration (COMIECO), held in El Salvador on December 5 and 6.
The Honduran government approved the adjustment to the price of freight for the transport of fuel to the interior, which was set at $2.42 per kilometer, which corresponds to the cost per round trip.
The new tariff was made official by means of the Sen-026-2019 Agreement, which was issued by the authorities of the Secretariat of Energy and published last October 24.
Guatemalan exporters report that President Trump's warning about export tariffs and taxes on remittances and transfers is raising doubts among U.S. buyers.
Uncertainty prevails among most Guatemalan businessmen after President Trump reacted to the provisional protection established by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court, which limits the functions of the Executive Branch to negotiate or sign any foreign policy agreement.
Guatemala's business sector responded with concern to President Trump's warning about imposing export tariffs and levies on remittances and transfers.
The announcement made by the president of the United States comes after the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a ruling in which it limits its foreign policy functions to the Executive, by granting a provisional injunction that prevents the negotiation or signing of any agreement.
The plan to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican products entering the U.S. would open up opportunities for Central American countries to increase their sales to the U.S., but there are fears that similar measures could be taken against the region.
On May 30, President Trump announced on his Twitter account that he plans to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican products entering the U.S.
Arguing that they should protect the local industry from dumping, the U.S. plans to impose temporary tariffs on imports of steel, textiles and footwear.
The tariffs that would be approved through the signing of presidential decrees would be valid for six months, which would be 15% for steel products, and 25% or 30% for imports of footwear and textiles.
Because citrus cultivation has been declared a national emergency in the country, the government authorized the import of 1.860 solid tons of orange juice.
The Secretariat of Economic Development has authorized the entry of orange juice to the country without tariff. According to the authorities, this action is expected to ensure the supply of the product in the local market.
Since November 1st, the Honduran government decided to reduce from 35% to 25% the import tariffs for steel sheets and other related products.
According to businessmen in the sector, the action taken by the authorities seeks to ensure the supply of steel sheets and other similar products at national level, as well as ensuring product price stability.
To correct alleged price distortions in the local market, the Panamanian government plans to regulate imports of beef from Nicaragua.
The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA)'s plan is to establish new import rules, which will aim to correct the "distortion in the price of beef paid for the local product."
If Costa Rican businessmen still had doubts about the direction to be taken by the new Alvarado administration in agricultural matters, the affirmations made by the newly-appointed minister of Agriculture and Livestock have managed to dissipate them completely.
EDITORIAL
"...'The position that I bring to the ministry is to protect national production, with all the legal and technical instruments provided to us by treaty frameworks ...We are going to be very jealous with entries, no matter what they are, with meats, with potatoes.There has been a lot of laxity, non compliance with the regulations," said Renato Alvarado, the ministry's new leader, to Nacion.com.
Since April 19, new prices for permits and licenses were announced in Honduras for the different fishing activities and sale of products in the sector.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock:
May 11.New fees for the payment of permits and licenses in the different fishing activities and marketing of fishery products, have been established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG), through the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture, (DIGEPESCA), which became effective as of April 19, 2018.