The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – Costa Rica expects to enter the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union on the 1st of August, when the agreement comes into force after being ratified by Congress, official sources said.
The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister, Anabel González, said in a statement that with the passage of the bill in Congress, “there was an important goal” of trade policy of Costa Rica.
“This agreement not only consolidates the tariff preferences of the Generalized System of Preferences, but opens up new export opportunities for our productive sectors and, additionally, from the regional perspective, strengthen our own integration,” Gonzalez said.
The partnership agreement shall enter into force on August 1 between those countries before July 15 before the completion of their internal procedures.
The European Parliament approved the agreement last December, and in Central America it is already approved in Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
El Salvador is the only country whose legislature has not ratified it.
The Association Agreement is based on three pillars: political dialogue, cooperation and free trade.
Costa Rican official data indicate that this country is the major trade partner of the EU in Central America, with exports to the European bloc by value of 2,068 million in 2012 and $ 1.234 billion in imports.
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica
