While some see the change of government in the United States as an opportunity to improve the conditions of the Free Trade Agreement with that country, others curb those impulses by arguing the danger of opening Pandora’s box against national interests.
Jesús Villalobos, president of the National Council of Cooperatives, explained that the industrial agricultural sector, which includes cooperatives of coffee, palm, rice and various grains, are analyzing the issue with a view to taking a position on a renegotiation.
All of them agree in the need to strengthen the administration of treaties and commercial defense, which was described by Renato Alvarado, President of the Porcine Farmers’ Chamber as disastrous.
There is no technical regulation; everything can be imported to the country. Dairy producers advanced a little bit about this, but the rest of the sectors are really behind,”
stated Alvarado.
The Union of Chambers of Private Enterprise (UCCAEP) noted that the issue of a possible revision to the treaty has not yet been addressed in the advisory council, so they preferred not to make a statement. For the Chamber of Industries a renegotiation would not be the way to go.
We should not open Pandora’s box, we do not know what unpleasant surprise might come out of it. The FTA is giving us the peace of mind that there is practically no unilateral variation in the relationship with the United States,”
said Francisco Gamboa, its director.
In the case of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), its president, Dennis Whitelaw, explained that the implementation of the FTA has been beneficial ,since he average annual exports grew by 16% in 10 years.
AMCHAM’s opinion is that the country should continue the diversification of production and specialization in order to take advantage of the treaty, although this requires an improvement in competitiveness and infrastructure, energy cost, education and containment of the state spending.