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CAFTA

New year sees delay in CAFTA implementation
11-Jan-2006 IRC Americas Program
A key argument used by US transnationals and the Bush administration to pass the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)—that Central American countries themselves needed and wanted the agreement—has broken down on the eve of implementation of the controversial pact. This is a summary of the status of CAFTA implementation in each country.
Anti-trade feelings delay CAFTA
10-Jan-2006
Growing anti-trade sentiment in several Central American countries has held up a trade agreement with the United States that was slated to launch Jan. 1.
Guatemalan FTA with US said risky
9-Jan-2006
“The Free Trade Agreement imposed by the United States on Central America and Dominican Republic will have negative consequences for our countries,” said Guatemalan jurist Alfonso Bauer Paiz.
Denounce chaos in prices
4-Jan-2006 Dominican Today
National Merchants and Entrepreneurs Federation president Antonio Cruz assured today that there is generalized disarray throughout the Dominican Republic with initial implementation of the tax reform, and requested the government to reconsider enforcing it as of next July when CAFTA comes into effect.
Guatemala to strengthen Mercosur ties
4-Jan-2006 AP
Guatemala’s government - annoyed by the delay in CAFTA’s implementation and the U.S. House of Representative’s approval of a wall to keep out illegal immigrants - announced Tuesday it would seek to strengthen its relations with the Mercosur trading bloc.
Opposition delays free trade implementation
2-Jan-2006 The New Standard
As CAFTA member-nations struggle to comply with the free trade pact’s requirements, opponents of the deal say the delays show how unpopular and undemocratic the mandated reforms are.
CAFTA to miss New Year’s Day target
30-Dec-2005
The Central American Free Trade Agreement, a Bush administration priority passed by the House in July after a bruising political fight, will not take effect New Year’s Day, the target date set by the White House.
Government insists it met with Free Trade requirements
29-Dec-2005
The Dominican government reiterated today that the country “met the requirements” and “is ready” to enter the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States (DR-CAFTA), but that it decided to postpone entering free trade until next July.
American Chamber of Commerce: DR-CAFTA delay "perplexing;" deters investments
22-Dec-2005 Dominican Today
The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) reacted yesterday with disbelief to the official announcement that the Dominican Republic postponed entering the Free Trade Agreement till July 2006.
Postponement of DR-CAFTA gives government RD$9,320M more
22-Dec-2005 Dominican Today
The decision to maintain the exchange commission at a rate of 9% during 2006, plus duty charges to be collected during the first 6 months next year prior to entering the DR-CAFTA would give the Dominican government an extra-budgetary income of approximately RD$9.3 billion.
US ratifies DR not on board for DR-CAFTA in January
21-Dec-2005
The United States ratified implementation of the Free Trade Agreement as of January 1st, 2006 with the sole inclusion of El Salvador and Honduras, since these were the only countries that met all requirements by the set deadline.
Improbable DR enters CAFTA in January
20-Dec-2005
US Ambassador Hans Hertell affirmed yesterday that there is a good possibility that the Dominican Republic be impeded to integrate this upcoming January onto the Free Trade Agreement known as DR-CAFTA, given that the voluminous documentation that authorities recently sent to the United States is currently under review.
Agro producers favor postponing DR-CAFTA
20-Dec-2005
The Pork Industry Association, president Jose Alba, considered that not entering the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in January 2006 would be a welcomed break for the productive sector. This grace period, in his view, would be well-used to correct distortions in the tax system and enable competitiveness.
Entrepreneurs, economists trust Free Trade starts in January
10-Dec-2005
Entrepreneurs and economists trust that the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States (DR-CAFTA) will in effect start as scheduled in January 2006.
Improbable implementation of free trade by January 2006
9-Dec-2005 Dominican Today
It is still unclear whether the DR-Central America and US Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) will start in January 2006, and if it does, most of the Central American countries lag in preparation to enter commercial activity.
Bush reaches out to Democrats on trade
4-Dec-2005 Wall Street Journal
President Bush is starting to embrace a different political strategy for getting trade agreements through Congress: bipartisanship.
Democrats and labor leaders balk at lack of workers rights under CAFTA
17-Nov-2005 AXcess News
Democratic members of Congress and labor leaders say they want the Bush administration to move away from CAFTA’s failed trade model or face another tough battle in Congress.
DR should emulate neighbors, be more aggressive with FTA
4-Nov-2005
Officials at the highest level along with private business persons from El Salvador are currently on tours that have been denominated as “CAFTA-Tours” throughout the United States, looking to attract investments, in addition to participating in work shops to train exporters on how to best benefit from markets to open with DR-CAFTA.
Farmers reject new taxes, ask for assistance with upcoming FTA
3-Nov-2005 Dominican Today
Associations in the Dominican farming sector today rejected some of the measures recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and requested from the government to establish a program to shore the sector up, prior to implementing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Trade liberalization challenges post-CAFTA
2-Nov-2005
This CRS report for US Congress analyses some of the challenges that became apparent in the aftermath of a divisive trade debate and how they could affect consideration of future trade agreements.