El Salvador, Bolivia Conclude Second Round Of Trade Talks

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

22 July 2016

El Salvador and Bolivia on July 20-21, 2016, held a second round of negotiations towards a Partial Scope Agreement that would lower tariffs on trade between the two countries.

Representatives from the two countries discussed market access, rules of origin and customs procedures, dispute resolution mechanisms, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, among other things.

The two countries agreed a framework for the negotiations on July 3, 2015, and the first round of negotiations was held in January this year.

Over the past five years, trade between El Salvador and Bolivia grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent, according to El Salvador's Ministry of Economy. El Salvador's main exports to Bolivia include veterinary drugs, fertilizers, aluminum ladders, and metal furniture, while its main imports from Bolivia include brake parts, minerals, machinery accessories, and magnetic tape.

Earlier this month El Salvador announced that good progress is being made in negotiations on a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Central American states – El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica.

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