Home | Search|Version Español

IDB Says CAFTA Negotiations On Track To Conclude Successfully in 2003

14 April 2003 

(Announcement echoes U.S. goal to finish talks this year) (390)

Washington -- Negotiations to establish a free-trade agreement between
the United States and five Central American nations are on track and
could conclude successfully in 2003, says Enrique Iglesias, president
of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Iglesias said in an April 11 statement that the negotiations are
"going very well" on the proposed Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA). He added that the Central American countries "show
great confidence" in finishing the talks, "while there is good
disposition on the U.S. side."

The IDB announcement echoes the U.S. goal to finish the talks in 2003.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said April 10 that President
Bush and the United States are "strongly committed" to Central America
and CAFTA.

"CAFTA is certainly a signal of the United States' ongoing commitment
to the hemisphere during a period that we know is marked with
difficulties," Zoellick said.

Zoellick said the talks were going according to schedule.

"We feel all the signs are positive, we are making excellent progress
on the issues," Zoellick said. "We believe we are on track to finish
the free-trade agreement this year."

The IDB's Iglesias said a key issue for Central America, as well as
for other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, is the need
for multilateral trade talks on access to markets and agricultural
protectionism.

Iglesias reiterated the IDB's commitment to support CAFTA and prepare
Central America's economies to take "full advantage of the
opportunities and challenges that free trade agreements entail."

Iglesias hosted a reception in Washington April 10 for the leaders of
the five Central American nations in CAFTA -- Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua -- after they had met earlier in
the day with Bush and Zoellick to discuss the progress achieved so far
in the trade talks launched in January. Subsequent CAFTA negotiations
have taken place in Costa Rica, Cincinnati, Ohio, and El Salvador.

The IDB is also backing Central America's integration efforts under
Plan Puebla Panama, which seeks, among other goals, to strengthen and
improve the region's major highways and power transmission grids. The
plan also calls for regional cooperation on social and environmental
programs and on natural disaster prevention.

Contact Information