Peru, Honduras to conclude FTA by year-end
Tax-News.com | 29 September 2014
Peru, Honduras to conclude FTA by year-end
by Mike Godfrey, Washington
The President of Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso, and his Honduran counterpart, Juan Orlando Hernandez, have agreed to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of this year.
The two Presidents met during the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on September 23, 2014. They discussed a number of bilateral issues including the importance of signing an FTA in November, or by December at the latest. The sectors covered by the FTA will include tourism, mining, and agri-food trade.
The two countries restarted stalled FTA talks in August of this year, and the next round of negotiations is scheduled for the first two weeks of October. The two sides have yet to reach an agreement on eliminating trade tariffs, trade in services, and public procurement.
Tasso and Hernandez also discussed Honduras’s plan to join the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc comprising Peru, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile. Signing an FTA with each member of the alliance is a prerequisite of accession.
