Costa Rica
The call for a referendum in Costa Rica to decide on the future of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States has unleashed a hotly-debated controversy on the issue, which has marked political life here over the last three years, the AFP reports.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Saturday announced that he will submit to the Legislative Assembly a proposal for a direct referendum over free trade agreement with the US.
Costa Rica will hold a referendum on whether to enter a regional free trade pact with the United States, President Oscar Arias said on Friday, in a blow to Washington’s trade agenda in the region.
The association of European banana producers APEB has announced that it will request the EU to leave any discussion of the banana import tariff out of the negotiations on economic collaboration or free trade agreements with the Andean countries in South America and with the countries in Central America.
While the passage of the Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA in English, TLC in Spanish) is a distant memory in the public political debate, implementation of the treaty continues to meet organized, spirited opposition in Costa Rica. In the US, activists are standing in solidarity with continued opposition and resistance.
On Feb. 26, tens of thousands of Costa Ricans took to the streets in a demonstration to block ratification of the free trade agreement and reject approval to implement legislation demanded by the United States. Costa Rica is the only country included in the Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) that has not yet ratified the agreement. A broad grassroots movement in the country is trying to make sure it stays that way.
Tens of thousands of union members, farmers and political activists marched through Costa Rica’s capital on Monday to protest a free-trade pact with the US they say will be harmful to local businesses.
Costa Rica also announces to sign a FTA with Panama in the next three months
The Costa Rican government ordered an information brownout and disinformation campaign against the mobilizations in that country protesting the free trade agreement with the US, denounced Deputy Jose Merino in a news release Tuesday.
The Costa Rican people are in the streets and on a general strike Monday and Tuesday to challenge the free trade agreement with the United States, which President Oscar Arias has approved to accelerate.
Costa Rican unions and social organizations confirmed their participation in a national strike against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, currently being evaluated in Congress.
The withdrawal of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States and development of alternatives are some of the actions proposed by deputies, social organizations and sectors that oppose to the ratification of that agreement on Monday.
Weary of the snail’s pace ratification process of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which continues to dominate Costa Rica’s political and social agenda, some companies are weighing the idea of moving to other Central American countries should Congress reject the treaty.
A team of Panamanian experts went to Costa Rica Monday, where the 4th Round of Negotiation between both nations looking for the signing of a Bilateral Protocol of the Free Trade Treaty will take place.
The figures show Thais are winning with free trade - yet many of the nation’s small farmers, struggling just to scrape by, are looking to lessons learned around the world.
A free trade agreement between Costa Rica and Barbados, that essentially eliminates barriers to trade and facilitates cross-border movement of goods and services between the territories, went into effect this week.
“El texto del proyecto de ley que se tramita bajo el expediente No. 16.047, ‘Tratado de Libre Comercio República Dominicana - Centroamérica - Estados Unidos’ (TLC), en virtud de contener disposiciones normativas que pueden afectar directamente a los pueblos indígenas, debe ser consultado a esas comunidades (...)”. Con este párrafo concluye un informe en el cual el Departamento de Servicios Técnicos de la Asamblea Legislativa se pronuncia sobre la obligatoriedad de consultar a las comunidades indígenas del país sobre el polémico tratado comercial.
Some 60 Costa Rican ecologist organizations protested Monday against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Central America and the United States, due to its risk for the environment.
Being that Guatemala has just recently implemented the Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), only Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic remain as the two signatories that still are not enforcing the agreement.
Secretary of the Internal Front of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) Fabio Chavez Friday assured unions would apply to all possible resources to hamper the implementation of a commercial alliance with the US.
