El Salvador unconcerned about the end of tariffs
12/03/2014
CAFTA, a programme of free trade arrangements between the US, countries in Central America and the Dominican Republic, came into force in 2005, with provisions for countries to maintain tariffs on certain products for a period of ten years. With that ten-year period set to expire in 2015, some observers have begun to ask about the potential implication for Central American economies.
Minec’s director of commercial policy, Carlos Moreno, has said in a statement that he believes El Salvador’s trading relationship with the US will continue more or less unchanged. He pointed out that the main products that El Salvador exports to the US at present, including leather footwear, will not be under threat when US manufacturers have duty-free access to the Salvadorean market.
“Our economies are complementary,” Mr Moreno said. “We export leather footwear, sugar, coffee, fruit juice and other products to the US, while the US exports oil, diesel, polyethylene and so on to us. It’s just not realistic to suggest that the end of tariffs will affect our competitiveness. We have been preparing for this for almost nine years.”
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