CAFTA-DR CAFTA-DR implications Exports & imports International Commerce Alvaro Baltodano Central America Integration Rubén Morales exports Anabel González Campabadal Carla Caballeros Council of Ministers of Economy and Trade of Central America (COMIECO) Economics Foreign Direct Investment Free Trade Agreement Guatemalan Chamber of Agriculture

El Salvador: 4 Years of DR-CAFTA

A forum on the subject, hosted by FUSADES, produced interesting conclusions, which can be extrapolated to the rest of the Central American countries which signed the agreement.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

©image: www.jitpages.com

The event concluded that CAFTA affected more than just trade and commerce, and has strengthened the country’s institutions, with relevant progress in labor and environment regulation.

CAFTA has not only energized exports, it has also changed its composition, increasing the share of non-traditional goods. This has opened the door for small and medium companies to benefit from the treaty, entering new, more demanding markets.

Read: CAFTA-DR-1.pdf' target="_blank">Four years of DR-CAFTA, progress and challenges (in Spanish)

Countries

Central America

Insight

CAFTA-DR CAFTA-DR implications International Commerce Exports & imports

The Benefits of CAFTA for Nicaragua

May 2012

Nicaragua now has a surplus of $1 billion and trade with the country has grown by 75% in six years, thanks to the DR-CAFTA, overtaking Guatemala and the rest of the region.

Six years after coming into force and following record levels of growth in trade and investment, Nicaragua has become the region’s unlikely poster child for DR-CAFTA.

Nicaragua and DR-CAFTA

April 2011

Nicaragua is one of the countries which has benefited the most from the Free Trade Agreement.

Robert Callahan, U.S. Ambassador in Nicaragua, added that the Central American country currently has a positive trade balance of $1.078 with the U.S.

Additionally, exports to the North American country have increased 71% in the past five years, from $1.170 million in 2005 to $2.012 million in 2010.

Guatemala, 5 Years after CAFTA-RD

June 2010

Exports have grown a mild 3.4%, with agricultural goods leading the way; Guatemala’s trade balance with the U.S. remains negative.

It is possible that the U.S economic crisis prevented the treaty from producing better results for Central American nations, but it is also probable that it helped soften the negative economic effects of said crisis.

US Lifts Tariffs on Costa Rican Sugar Imports

June 2010

The Central American country will be allowed to ship 138.880 tons of tariff-free sugar, as agreed in DR-CAFTA.

President Barack Obama signed the document last week. The resolution must now be published in the U.S. official newspaper, and customs officers must make the corresponding adjustments.

close (x)