The Costa Rica News (TCRN ) – Costa Rica will not transfer to another country its share of sugar exports to the European Union (EU ) agreed in the Partnership Agreement , which, for the time being, is in force only in Panama , Honduras, and Nicaragua .
The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister , Anabel González , told local Columbia Radio that Costa Rica “will not give up its rights.” ” This is something that Costa Rica has the right to and there is no reason to give it up. We ‘re working on the basis that the agreement will enter into force in the country”, said the official.
The Association Agreement established an annual export quota of 62,000 metric tons of Central American sugar, of which 13 % corresponds to Costa Rica, where the agreement has not entered into force. Local media have reported that other Central American countries are interested in Costa Rica´s granting them its share so that they can take advantage of it for the rest of this year.
The Association Agreement entered into force on August 1 in the EU, Panama , Nicaragua and Honduras, which did not happen in Costa Rica , El Salvador and Guatemala because they still have some pending internal procedures . It is still unclear when the agreement will become effective in the three countries.
The Costa Rican government argues that Italy has “locked” the entry into force of the instrument in Costa Rica because GIs of four varieties of cheese have not received approval. Italy applied for the registration of 24 geographical indications, of which only Valpadana Provolone cheese , Fontina , Gorgonzola and Parmigiano Reggiano have not been approved in Costa Rica and are pending in the Industrial Property Registry.
The Association Agreement is based on three pillars: political dialogue, cooperation and free trade agreement . Official data indicates that Costa Rica is the major trade partner of the EU in Central America, with exports to European countries by 2,068 million dolars in 2012 and 1.234 billion dollars in imports. FNL
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica
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