US-Central America Trade Talks Open Monday

Broadcast: Jan 25 2003

 

Trade representatives from the United States and five Central American nations meet in San Jose, Costa Rica, Monday, to begin negotiations¹ aimed at producing a free trade agreement. The Central American negotiators hope over the next year to develop a treaty that will give their nations the same advantages Mexico has had under the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as ¹⁾NAFTA.

The five Central American nations taking part in these talks are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. They have all been referred to, at one time or another, as "banana republics." For many decades these nations were seen by the United States as simply producers of tropical agricultural commodities.

But they are also moving into light manufacturing, high-scale tourism and financial services. Here in Costa Rica, where the process of negotiating a treaty will start, the government of President Abel Pacheco is in favor of a NAFTA-like treaty, even though some sectors² of society are expressing doubts, and even open opposition³ to such an agreement.

Former Costa Rican President Rodrigo Carazo and leaders of some labor⁴ unions, farmers' organizations and environmental groups have demanded that the government take into account their concerns. Several groups plan protests here on Monday.

Costa Rican Commerce Minister Alberto Trejos says the free trade opponents are ²⁾misguided, since there is no treaty yet, and, therefore, there is nothing to protest. He says the government is conducting the talks in an open manner. He says the government has invited union leaders to participate in a dialogue about the trade talks, and has also sent a detailed⁵ letter to the nation's 57 congressional deputies explaining the objectives of the trade negotiations. The Commerce Ministry⁶ also maintains an Internet Web site, with updated information about the trade talks.

Costa Rica's chief negotiator at the talks, Anabel Gonzalez, says the first week of talks are designed to set forth⁷ the agenda for the multilateral negotiations. She says the first item on the agenda will be an exchange of information. She says the most important part for the Central American nations will be to find out more about the draft trade agreement the United States recently negotiated with Chile, which will serve as a model for the talks here.

One of the U.S. officials involved in preparations for the talks is Todd Chapman of the U.S. Embassy's political and economic section. He says, although this effort was initiated⁸ by the Central American nations, it is compatible with overall U.S. efforts to expand trade worldwide. "I think it is fair to say that the Bush administration has truly pursued an expansionist free trade policy, suggesting that truly free trade is perhaps the best vehicle to promote economic development around the world," he says.

Mr. Chapman says a trade agreement with Central America will compliment NAFTA and other U.S. trade treaties. He says Central Americans will benefit by having firm, treaty-based access to the world's largest market, and that consumers in the five nations of the ³⁾isthmus will benefit by having access to a wider variety of products at lower cost.

Mr. Chapman says it is appropriate that the talks are beginning here in Costa Rica, a nation that has already demonstrated how opening to trade and investment can benefit all economic sectors. "Free trade agreements not only encourage trade, but more importantly, they also encourage investment, and this country has benefited tremendously by an increased flow of foreign direct investment, principally from the United States, and these have offered some of the best-paying and most challenging jobs in the country," he says.

Costa Rica is currently home to large plants owned and operated by such companies as Intel, Abbott Labs and Procter and Gamble. Other Central American nations have also started to attract such companies, but most are still using cheap labor as their main draw. Mr. Chapman says the increase in trade and investment that could result from a regional trade agreement with the United States, could help these nations advance substantially toward a higher level of manufacturing.

The talks starting here Monday will launch a year of follow-up meetings, held in different Central American nations every four-to-six weeks. The goal is to have a completed agreement by December.

Greg Flakus VOA news, San Jose, Costa Rica.

1)    NAFTA 北美自由贸易协定

2)    misguided[5mis5^aidid]adj. 被误导的

3)    isthmus[5ismEs, 5isWmEs]n. [地理]地峡, 峡部

 

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。