Letters.Free Trade Is a Must The United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is taking steps toward free trade in the Americas. That is why President Bush's announcement that his administration will explore a free trade agreement with Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. has been greeted with satisfaction, hope and confidence. In El Salvador El Salvador (ĕl sälväthōr`), officially Republic of El Salvador, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,705,000), 8,260 sq mi (21,393 sq km), Central America. , we feel particularly prepared to assume the rights and obligations that would come under a free trade agreement with the U.S. The liberalization lib·er·al·ize v. lib·er·al·ized, lib·er·al·iz·ing, lib·er·al·iz·es v.tr. To make liberal or more liberal: "Our standards of private conduct have been greatly liberalized . . . policies we have followed have produced an open economy while our monetary integration law guarantees that all investment that comes to El Salvador will maintain its value. Additionally, we have centered our trade policy efforts on pursuing reciprocal trade agreements with our closest trading partners to assure better market access to Salvadoran products. El Salvador has already negotiated and ratified free trade agreements with Mexico, the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. and Chile. In December 2001, we began negotiations with Canada, along with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. This past January, El Salvador successfully concluded free trade negotiations with Panama. The results are staggering: In this past year, El Salvador's exports to the above five countries have grown 36%. With Mexico, in the year since we began the free trade agreement, Salvadoran exports have almost doubled, while the number of exporters has also doubled. With the Dominican Republic, with just a few months into free trade, the number of exporters has increased by 50%. El Salvador is ranked by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal 2002 Index of Economic Freedom as the freest economy in Central America and second freest in all of Latin America. As we work hard to implement these agreements ... we are also actively participating in the creation of the FTAA FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas FTAA Free Trade Agreement of the Americas FTAA Florida Turkish American Association FTAA Federated Tanners Association of Australia FTAA Fixed Threshold Adaptation Algorithm , which will convert the Western Hemisphere into the largest economic bloc in the world and bring greater stability to the region. A Central American-U.S. free trade agreement will become a significant steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. toward this important objective. Miguel Lacayo Minister of Economy El Salvador Tracking Trends Congratulations on a great newsletter. One suggestion: if you include some charts on trends, it would be much more useful. Marcelo Salup EVP/International Media Director Foote Cone & Belding Miami, Florida Thumb's Up The LATIN TRADE Panorama Weekly is a very nice addition to your magazine. Great job! Edouard Piquet piquet or picquet (both: pēkā`), card game played by two persons with a deck of 32 cards—7 (low) up to ace (high) in each suit. Each player receives 12 cards, and eight cards are left on the table face down. Latin America & Caribbean Global Transaction Services ABN AMRO Bank Miami, Florida Editor's Note: LATIN TRADE Panorama Weekly is our new e-mail newsletter. For subscription information, see our Web site www.latintrade.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion