03 July 2006
United States Praises Guatemala for Implementing Trade Pact
Central America Trade Agreement with Guatemala entered into force July 1
Washington -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has praised Guatemala for implementing the free-trade pact among the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic.
In a June 30 statement, Gutierrez said the agreement, the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR), opens Guatemala's market to U.S. exporters, and helps to promote democracy in the Central American region.
Gutierrez said he was "very pleased that Guatemala is joining its neighbors in implementing” CAFTA-DR. CAFTA-DR entered into force with Guatemala July 1. (See related article.)
Gutierrez said CAFTA-DR "strips away barriers to trade," and "boosts hope and opportunity” throughout the Central America/Caribbean region.
The official added that under such initiatives as CAFTA-DR, the United States has offered a "positive vision to the region that advances economic freedom and social reform while strengthening democracies and the rule of law. Such unprecedented U.S. engagement is vital in the effort to counter the voices of those who want to turn the clock back and undo the advancement of democracy and freedom."
The Commerce Department said that for more than 20 years, most Guatemalan exports entered the United States duty free, primarily as a result of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The department said CAFTA-DR moves beyond "one-way preferences to full partnership and reciprocal commitments, under which U.S. exports also benefit from duty-free access."
The CAFTA-DR region represents a substantial market for U.S. exporters, the Commerce Department said. It added that the United States exported nearly $17 billion to the CAFTA-DR countries in 2005, more than all U.S. exports to Russia, India and Indonesia combined.
Guatemala now joins El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras as countries that have completed their commitments under the agreement. The United States entered CAFTA-DR with El Salvador on March 1, and with Honduras and Nicaragua on April 1.
The Commerce Department said the United States continues to work with the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica "to complete this partnership."
For more on the trade pact, see Central America Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic.
The full text of a presidential proclamation on the pact is available on the White House Web site.
Additional information on the Caribbean Basin Initiative is available on the Web site of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
