Nicaragua and ALBA negotiate a People’s Trade Treaty

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Notimex 2-9-2010

(Freely translated by Anoosha Boralessa in 2015 for bilaterals.org)

Nicaragua and ALBA negotiate a People’s Trade Treaty

Managua 2 Sep (Notimex) — An official source reported that Nicaragua and the South American and Caribbean countries that are members of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) are negotiating an integration treaty that covers economic, trade and political issues.

The Nicaraguan Minister of Development, Industry and Trade, Orlando Sorlorzano, declared that, "We are negotiating a People’s trade agreement" with Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia and other ALBA member states that differs from other trade agreements signed by Nicaragua.

Venezuela has jumped to being Nicaragua’s third largest trade partner in a few years, with annual exports exceeding 200 million dollars and an oil agreement that has produced significant profits for this Central American country.

Sorlorzano told La Prensa that they have rejected the petition of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Venezuela "in the style of standard, current FTAs" in order to create a broader bloc instead.

"We are going to go beyond a trade relationship with Venezuela because an FTA is limited to trade," he said. Already, he added, committees are "meeting to work on a draft People’s trade treaty — this is not simply rhetoric, it is a fact."

Livestock producers and the poultry sector have asked for "clear rules" for the trade relationship with Venezuela to be set out in a trade agreement.

The President of the National Association of Poultry Producers, Alfredo Velez, assured that they have "steady trade" in the last two years with the South American country, however, a formal agreement would be "by far superior".

Nicaragua has signed a FTA with Mexico, Central America, Taiwan, the United States and Panama.

There is also an association agreement between Central America and the EU.

source : SDP

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