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"Northern Triangle" to sign trade agreement |
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June 30, 2000
MEXICO
CITY (AP) - Mexico will sign a free trade agreement Thursday
with three Central American countries, the latest in a series of accords
before the government leaves office.
The presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras - Central America's so-called "Northern Triangle" - were arriving in Mexico City Wednesday ahead of Thursday's ceremony with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. The presidents of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama were to witness the signing. Mexico signed agreements with the European Union and Israel this year and hopes to reach one soon with Panama. The government also plans to begin talks with Singapore before Zedillo leaves office in December.
The agreement with Central America, which will take effect Jan. 1, dismantles trade barriers within 12 years.
Excluded from the agreement are key exports including coffee, sugar and bananas. It calls for only limited opening in cement and steel, which are important Mexican exports. Corn is also excluded. The agreement requires Mexico to open its markets more rapidly than the Central American countries because it has traditionally run trade surpluses with them.
Trade between Mexico and the three Central American countries totaled dlrs 1.05 billion last year, only 0.4 percent of Mexico's total trade, according to the Mexican Commerce Ministry. Apart
from the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and
Canada, Mexico has agreements with Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia,
Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Mexico's drive to expand trade relations is an
effort to wean itself from dependence on the U.S., which accounted for 83
percent of total Mexican trade last year.
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