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CA Trade Reps Meet In Washington For Free-Trade Talks By LYNN CHOTOWETZ
The door to Central American trade with the U.S. is being pushed farther
open this week as representatives from both sides meet in Washington to
discuss future negotiations of a Central American free-trade agreement, or
CAFTA. The meetings will allow both sides to list preliminary demands, as
well as set firm dates to begin formal negotiations.
The agreement will involve the five member countries of the Central American
Economic Integration System - Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador
and Guatemala. This week’s meetings will be the latest in a series that
began early this year when U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick
voiced his country’s interest in pursuing a free-trade agreement with
Central America. In August, U.S. President George W. Bush received
Congressional authority to “fast-track” free-trade negotiations, causing a
renewed interest in pushing toward CAFTA negotiations.
Irving Guerro, Honduras’ Vice-Minister of External Commerce, says one of the
U.S.’s main demands is improved access to Central American markets. He says
El Salvador has readily opened its markets to foreign competition, while
Costa Rica retains a high number of public-service monopolies.
Guerro says Honduras is in the process of opening its services, citing the
presence of foreign financial institutions, but the telecommunications and
energy- distribution industries, both highly coveted by the U.S., are still
run by monopolies. Hondutels’ monopoly on Honduras telecommunication service
lasts until 2005.
The US is Honduras’ number one trading partner, accounting for approximately
half of Honduran trade. In 2000 Honduras exported $2.5 billion worth of
goods to the U.S., and U.S. imports into Honduras were over $3 billion. The
U.S. also contributes a large amount of aid to Honduras. The U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) has alone supplied the country with an
average of $30 million a year for the past three years.
Guerro says CAFTA is Honduras’ opportunity to gain independance from U.S.
aid money. “We don’t need the aid,” he said. “We’ve got trade.”
Currently trade between the two countries is driven by U.S. unilateral trade
preferences through the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
Both countries are eager to move towards a bilateral agreement, such as
CAFTA, but Andrew Sherr, Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Honduras,
says the U.S. will only deal with Honduras as a member of a Central American
negotiating block.
Two-way trade between the U.S. and Central America was approximately $20
billion in 2001, exceeding the value of U.S. trade with India, Indonesia,
and Russia combined.
After decades of political and social turmoil, Central American countries
have enjoyed relative peace since the mid-90s. However, regional
relationships have been hampered by border disputes and tarriff wars over
the past year. Guerra says CAFTA dialogue has helped soothe regional
tensions, and says the countries are looking past their disputes to achieve
a unified negotiating voice.
Sherr says the U.S. plans to use the CAFTA negotiations as a stepping stone
toward the larger Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA), scheduled to
be concluded by the end of 2004. The FTAA will include 34 nations of the
Western Hemisphere, excluding Cuba. The next meeting is in November in
Quito, Ecuador.
ABC Of Spain - Out to Conquer Honduras
 Media consultants, Iglesias (left) and Urgal are in Honduras to compile a
special feature for ABC Spain.
By MARIO GUTIERREZ
In the frame of a special edition on the Republic of Honduras, media
consultants representing the Spanish newspaper ABC have traveled to Honduras
to talk to local businesses. Jose Iglesias, a journalist, and Special
Editions Producer Elena Urgal have visited all personalities of the country
for their next special edition, in where our country out stands in all
aspects.
Last week Iglesias and Urgal came to the HTW offices, and
took time out for some question and answer discussion.
HTW: Elena, ABC: to attack or what?
Elena:Spain wants to know what is going on in Honduras, and the same
question is asked by our business people? What opportunities are there to
invest? Our project is to offer Honduran opportunities to Spanish
business people.
Jose: The Spanish business people are interested in learning with whom they
will do business. Who is who? Our agency is international, we have several
branch stations, and we work for prestigious media, such as the ABC, and our
agency sees as a priority an edition on Honduras. So, here we are.
HTW: What profile do you have on Honduras?
Jose: A cold and incomplete profile, accentuated by the lack of an image of
Honduras in the international media. We see that in Honduras there are
structures and great opportunities, and this we will transmit to the Spanish
business people.
Elena: I had imagined a poor country still recuperating from Hurricane
Mitch. However, this is at full speed, and hard working people.
Jose: Is ABC known in Honduras?
HTW: At least all leaders know the ABC. The ABC is the Latin American
newspaper of the chancelleries and enterprises.
Jose: How is the linguistic understanding with the Spanish language doing in
Honduras?
HTW: What there is, is an attractive difference in what the Spanish of
Salamanca see as: “the Spanish”. Today even the Royal Spanish Academy
accepts that the language is well and alive and in evolution in Central and
South America, this makes the attractive difference. Every day there are
more Spaniards in Latin America, and vice versa.
HTW: Who is the Honduran similar to over there in Spain? With the figure of
the
‘Spanish language’ at ease from the plateau. The Honduran is interested in
developing and producing. It is a tranquilized worker.
Elena: He is communicative with out excess. Here, there is
a personal treatment amongst equals, which is appreciated.
Jose: There is a lot of affection for Spain among Hondurans, and, as a fact
for Spaniards, Honduran culture is very similar to Spains. They are dainty
people want to give you their best.
HTW: How many copies does ABC print?
Jose: 400,000 issues. We calculate a million readers.
In further discussion, the pair expressed that globalization has not only
altered the world, but marks the rhythm of each country without losing the
dimension of all latitudes of the Earth. Gone is the territorialism, they
said, competition has to come out in all grounds and without boundaries.
The job of the media, such as ABC, is to offer the opportunity of a joint
vision in the world of globalization, and gives opportunities to public
officials and business people that, thanks to their contribution and vision,
knew how to elevate the country in the midst of adversity.
In recent days this pair has attended other regional countries, such as
Mexico, El Salvador, and the U.S., offering an ample and secure vision to
the informed by pro ABC who enjoy a complete vision of the countries
studied, with this ample vision that, these good professionals offer from
Journalism and Business Management.
This team has proposed a couple of months of work so that consequently a
precise and detailed realization will be accomplished on Honduras.
Spanish investors have granted their attention toward the determination of
the Spanish Government by broadening their interests to a strategic
association with Central America through the Bank of Central America. This
step has contributed to the trust in the broadening of Spanish investments
in the area, which are expected to soon contribute considerably for the
benefit of both interests.
Investors from both continents have begun to study potential opportunities.
This is the environment in which the special team of ABC feels obligated to
its readers to provide broad and profound information.
Urgal and Iglesias say this project will favor the communication of direct
contact between political and economical personalities, offering the
opportunities of expressing their opinions and considerations in benefit of
their communities, and attending the demands of the complicated world of
globalization.
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