Honduras News – Daily News about Honduras

The Madrid summit witnessed the official closing of trade negotiations between the EU and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.

Heads of state signed off on the “trade pillar” of the association agreement today. In a joint statement, leaders said that they had achieved “an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced” outcome.

The trade deal will include “100 percent market opening for industrial products on both sides,” the statement said. The agreement will also allow European cars to enter the Central American countries’ markets free of tariffs over a ten-year period. New quotas will be implemented for trade in beef and rice, allowing more of each product to enter the European Union.

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The European Union and Central American states reached an agreement on Tuesday to liberalize trade and cut import tariffs.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive in charge of the 27-nation bloc’s trade policy, said the deal would formally be concluded by the EU and Central American heads of states at the summit in Madrid on Wednesday.

“The trade ministers of Central America and the EU express their full satisfaction with the outcome, which will result in an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced trade pillar of the association agreement,” the Commission said in a statement.

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Nicaragua is the only Central American country that has yet to recognize the government of President Porfirio Lobo.

Hope may be on the horizon, however, as Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega met with President Lobo on April 9th in Managua, and most recently, stated, “We’re convinced it’s necessary to normalize relations.” These words were spoken today at a meeting in Managua with Costa Rican President-elect Laura Chinchilla.

Nicaragua may be feeling pressure to recognize Honduras from other Central American leaders, as their goal is to revive the Central American Integration system, so they can come to an agreement to deepen trade and relations with the European Union.

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