Acting on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA): Central America ready to negotiate trade deal with U.S. (Special Advertising Feature).

Now that U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress have passed TPA legislation granting the executive branch of government the authority to negotiate trade accords, the next step is putting this power into practice.

El Salvador believes that the U.S. administration will benefit by turning to markets where a free trade framework is already in place and with those nations that are prepared to immediately implement commercial agreements

For Central America, an area already committed to free trade, a commercial agreement with the United States makes sense first and foremost because of the economic benefits it brings to both parties. The U.S. is the largest trade partner of El Salvador individually and Central America collectively. The U.S. exports more to Central America than to Russia, India and Indonesia combined and more than to Argentina, Chile and Colombia combined.

Free trade between the United States and Central America would strengthen the U.S. economy, benefiting American businesses, workers and consumers, while helping consolidate Central America's democracies and building more productive societies. In the past decade, Central America has witnessed the effects of an open economy on growth, as increased trade has led to increased employment and investment: two necessary components for combating poverty and for sustaining development.

A decade after ending our civil war, El Salvador boasts a proven record of economic and political reform, transforming itself into one of the most plural, dynamic and stable economies in the Americas. Through market-oriented reforms, our country has achieved a level of macroeconomic stability underscored by the coveted "investment grade" credit rating, shared by only two other countries in Latin America. El Salvador's GDP growth throughout the 1990s was the second best in Latin America, surpassed only by Chile.

El Salvador is ready to fully support free trade between Central America and the United States, trade that is sure to consolidate the ties between the two regions, boost the process to achieve a Free Trade Area of the Americas and contribute to the creation of jobs both in the U.S. and Central America, thus improving the quality of life of our people.

Miguel Lacayo is El Salvador's Minister of Economy.