El Salvador, Guatemala Make Progress On Trade Facilitation

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

19 February 2016

El Salvador and Guatemala held a meeting on February 16, 2016, to advance their bilateral trade facilitation agenda, according to El Salvador's Ministry of Economy.

The meeting was held as part of the Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy, which was adopted by both countries in October last year. The strategy is intended to help simplify trade procedures, reduce trade costs, improve tax revenue, enhance competitiveness, and modernize border infrastructure. The participating countries are required to develop national plans to implement the strategy.

El Salvador's Deputy Minister of Economy, Luz Estrella Rodríguez, said that El Salvador and Guatemala expect to complete a roadmap for implementing trade facilitation measures shortly.

The two countries are members of a number of free trade agreements together, including the Central America-European Union FTA, and the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States FTA.

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