Progress reported in CAFTA talks.

The U.S. official who is leading negotiations for a free-trade agreement with five Central American countries said progress was made during talks in New Orleans, and expressed confidence that a proposal could be presented to Congress by early next year, reports AP (Aug. 4, 2003):

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Regina Vargo offered few details about the six days of closed-door proceeding. The U.S.is seeking an accord with Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador that would end tariffs and other trade barriers, much as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did for the U.S., Mexico and Canada;

Negotiators hammered out significant points related to customs administration and e-commerce, Vargo said, and plan to tackle some of the thornier issues in the next round of talks, set for Sept. 15-19 in Managua, Nicaragua. "I think there is a lot of work ahead, but we have made good progress," said Anabel Gonzalez, chief negotiator for Costa Rica. Vargo indicated that sensitive areas of the agreement still to be dealt with include textiles and the enforcement and strengthening of labor and environmental protection laws in Central America;

Any congressional vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) could be tight, warned U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. Enforcement of labor and environmental laws in Central America would be a top concern for many lawmakers, he said;

There is a lot at stake with this regional free trade agreement for both importers and domestic textile mills alike. In 2002, imports from the five countries totaled 2.86 billion square meters equivalent with a combined value of US$6.98 billion, according to the Commerce Department. Total U.S. exports to the five countries amounted to about US$9 billion in goods. Of that, more than $4 billion was textiles.