[ftaadelegation] FW: From es-solidarity: FW: CAFTA "agreement" reached

[kates-chinoy, katherine or dennis]

Title: FW: From es-solidarity:  FW: CAFTA "agreement" reached

Hi friends, fyi  - Katherine
p.s. wishing you great holidays
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From: Jim Goronson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 13:04:34 -0600
To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Laura Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: From es-solidarity:  FW: CAFTA "agreement" reached

Answers to frequntly asked questions about es-solidarity are at the bottom of this message.
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Hola [EMAIL PROTECTED],

Bush & Co. are trying to spin yesterday's preliminary CAFTA agreement sans Costa Rica as a major victory--see below.

N B - note that the article never refers to it as CAFTA (perhaps due to Costa Rica's withdrawal?)


US agrees trade deal with Central American nations
By Edward Alden in Washington
Financial Times; Dec 18, 2003

The US yesterday concluded free trade negotiations with four Central American nations, saying it was prepared to move forward on the deal even without the participation of the largest, Costa Rica.

The deal is the first trade agreement negotiated entirely by the administration of President George W. Bush, which came to office vowing to revive what it claimed was a moribund US trade policy.

The agreement with El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala will eliminate all tariffs on industrial goods over 10 years and will gradually phase out protection of agricultural products over the next 20 years. It will also force the Central American countries to deregulate most sectors and adopt strong protection for US patents, trademarks and copyrights.

The deal has been seen as important for the US because it had already missed year-end deadlines for negotiations with Australia and Morocco. Talks in the Doha round of trade negotiations and on proposed regional Free Trade Areas of the Americas are stalled.

Robert Zoellick, US trade representative, said: "Step by step, country by country, region by region, the US is opening markets with top-notch comprehensive free trade agreements."

But Costa Rica, which has the largest economy in the region and is the biggest market for US exporters, refused to conclude the negotiations because of US demands that it liberalise its monopoly telecommunications and insurance sectors.

Mr Zoellick said the US was prepared to resume talks with Costa Rica next month and hoped it would make the concessions needed to become part of the agreement.

Negotiators made substantial concessions for economically sensitive sectors in both the US and Central America. The 20-year phase-out period for tariffs on some import-sensitive farm products such as dairy is unprecedented in a US trade agreement, because the US normally insists on more rapid liberalisation. In addition, it was agreed to maintain tariffs for sugar, protecting US sugar growers, and for white corn, protecting Central American small farmers. Quotas would increase substantially for both products.

The US also bowed to pressure from its textile industry to limit the ability to which large clothing producers such as Honduras will be able to ship duty-free unless they use US fabric. But Miguel Lacayo, economy minister of El Salvador, praised US flexibility on the issue for many of the region's key clothing exports.

The agreement will face big hurdles when it goes before the US Congress next year. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat, who is often a bellwether on trade votes, said announcement of the deal was "premature". "Too many important issues remain open to declare these negotiations successfully concluded," he said, saying that provisions on environmental protection and labour rights were inadequate.







Soren Ambrose
New Voices on Globalization /
50 Years Is Enough Network
3628 12th St., N.E.
Washington, DC 20017 USA
office: +1-202-636-6097
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