Free Trade Area of the Americas - FTAA

español français

 
Ministerial
Declarations
Trade Negotiations
Committee
Negotiating
Groups
Special
Committees
Business
Facilitation
Civil
Society
Trade&Tariff
Database
Hemispheric
Cooperation
Program

Home Countries Sitemap A-Z list Governmental Contact Points

 
 

Public
FTAA.soc/civ/24
May 3, 2002

Original: Spanish

Translation: FTAA Secretariat

FTAA - COMMITTEE OF GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE PARTICIPATION OF
CIVIL SOCIETY

CONTRIBUTION IN RESPONSE TO THE OPEN AND ONGOING INVITATION


Name (s) Hector Vargas Villalta
Organization (s) Comité de Zonas Francas de las Américas
Country Costa Rica

Submitted by: The Customs-Free Zones of the Americas Committee (CZFA), a nongovernmental, nonprofit, apolitical organization that supports customs-free zones in Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina

Negotiating Group: Market Access

Topic: Goods manufactured in customs-free zones should receive the benefits of the tariff elimination programs accorded under the FTAA and alternatives should be sought for harmonizing the rules and incentives of customs-free zones

Rationale: The representatives of the customs-free sector of Central America and the Caribbean, gathered for the “Second Central American and Caribbean Free Zones Forum,” held from 13 to 15 March 2002, at the Coral Hamaca Hotel, Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, consider:

  • That during the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in April 2001, mechanisms were sought to increase foreign trade in countries with relatively less economic development and in countries with smaller economies;
     

  • That customs-free zones in Central America and the Caribbean are directly creating 500,000 jobs in manufacturing and are responsible for a significant percentage of the total exports of the countries of the hemisphere;
     

  • That seeking consensus among the future members of the FTAA is a priority, so that the benefits of the agreement that derive from the negotiated rules of origin, especially those rules related to the countries’ level of development, can be recognized.
     

  • That the establishment of logistical centers for the physical distribution of goods is crucial for the facilitation of trade, as is the fact that customs-free zones have promoted the development of trade.

Request:

1. We urge the Negotiating Group on Market Access to inform the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee of the importance of customs-free zones in the countries of Central America and the Caribbean as a tool for creating jobs, adding value, transferring technology, and diversifying their exports.

2. We request that the Negotiating Group on Market Access seek a consensus so that goods manufactured in customs-free zones are accorded the tariff benefits of the FTAA, provided that they meet the agreed origin requirements.

3. We ask the Negotiating Group on Market Access to seek a consensus so that international logistical centers covered under the customs-free regime can be used in such a way FTAA tariff benefits attach to goods originating in FTAA member countries that pass through these centers, provided that such goods are not subject to transformation and are duly certified to that effect.

4. The Customs-Free Zones of the Americas Committee offers to help the Negotiating Group on Market Access obtain more information on, and increase its understanding of, the scope and characteristics of the customs-free regime in the Americas.

 
countries sitemap a-z list governmental contact points