Hopes for Customs Union in El Salvador

The trade union of Salvadoran exporters has already started the process to participate in the negotiation rounds to join the Customs Union between Guatemala and Honduras.
The private sector will be part of the negotiation process that has just begun to incorporate El Salvador and Nicaragua into the Customs Union which is already in force between Guatemala and Honduras. 

Alejandro Ceballos, president of the Clothing and Textiles Commission at Agexport Guatemala, that  "... official information has been received from their Salvadoran peers regarding their interest in joining the customs union."Salvadoran entrepreneurs want integration, because they already know about the advantages with Honduras, especially in terms of ease of exchanging goods."

The greatest expectation is for a reduction in the time and costs of carrying out intraregional trade procedures. Ceballos commented that currently   "..."A container goes straight to Honduras with only an electronic report, while with El Salvador it takes up to 48 hours and the process is done on paper and by hand."

Regarding the process, Silvia Cuéllar, Executive Director of the Export Exporters Corporation (Coexport) of El Salvador, "... stated that the framework agreement will be launched to start talks on customs integration, which will establish the conditions of how the process will be and the list of products to be included."We are going to see the legal framework, which is the first step. I hope that by December it will be possible to conclude with the negotiation and that it will be extended to Panama'."

Source: Prensalibre.com