ISDS Case Map
CAFTA
US - Central America Free Trade Agreement
The Legislative Assembly on Dec. 18 ratified the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), signed in May by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua with the United States. El Salvador was the first country to ratify the accord.
The USTR's Office said Friday that Guatemala violated the terms of a pending Central American trade agreement with a new pharmaceutical data law the United States objects to.
This report looks at major Customs Unions, Free Trade Areas, and economic
association agreements around the world, with particular attention to any clauses
covering social issues, core labour standards and trade union participation.
Many civic organizations in the SACU region and the US, especially the labor unions, as well as other governments within Southern Africa note many possible disadvantages to the proposed US-SACU FTA.
While the main
US goal on agriculture in many FTA
negotiations often is to secure non-SPS
related concessions such as lower tariffs,
the foreign partners often see the FTA as
an opportunity to resolve outstanding
SPS issues with the US as well as seek
accelerated new market access to the US
for their animal and plant products.
The Bush administration has decided to exclude the Dominican Republic from the Central American Free Trade Agreement because the Dominican Republic has adopted a tax on products containing high fructose corn syrup, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said.
The Bush administration is working to strip the Dominican Republic out of a wider free trade pact if the Caribbean nation does not repeal a recently implemented tax on soft drinks that affects U.S. exporters.
A call for organizational sign-ons from the Central America is Not For Sale Coalition
US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has promised to scrap the controversial US-Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) if elected president November 2.
The U.S. government has suspended plans to ratify a free-trade agreement with the Dominican Republic after lawmakers passed a 25 percent import tax on corn syrup last week, a top U.S. official said Monday.
