ISDS Case Map
Central America
The EU approved last week a change in the mandate for its negotiators in order to include Panama in the discussions, following a formal request from that country, as well as an assent by Panama to accept all of the points already agreed upon in the negotiations by its Central American partners Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The negotiation process will begin in May and will be between Peru and Central America, such the one with the European Union
The elections and investiture of Porfirio Lobo as President of Honduras have cleared the way for the EU to restore normal relations with the Central American country and negotiations for signing a bi-regional Association Agreement may soon resume.
A senior European Union official on Monday stressed the 27-nation bloc's commitment to signing a free trade agreement with Central American nations.
Peru will begin negotiations to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Central America in May next year, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism
According to Latin American trade unions and organisations, patenting has had devastating consequences for biological diversity in several Latin American countries. Yet neither the patent rules proposed in the association agreement between the EU and Central America nor the bilateral trade negotiations taking place between the EU and Colombia and Peru have taken account of such criticism.
The Honduran crisis is delaying trade agreement negotiations between Central America and the European Union, as diplomats wait to see how the political situation there plays out.
The June coup d'état in Honduras was a body blow to political integration in Central America. The old idea of a protected and privileged trade area does not make any sense now in the light of globalisation, "so the concept of open integration was adopted. But that needed to be translated into concrete terms and this was not done."
The first trade priority for the upcoming Swedish presidency of the European Union is to close the free trade agreement with South Korea
Right now, the EU-Central America Association Agreement is being actively negotiated and the European Commission is desperate to get it finalised by July. Yet, there are many concerns from civil society in both Central America and the European Union about the pace and content of these trade negotiations. Concerns are being voiced by some Central American governments too.
