MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US-Central America free trade treaty

Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua reached this week a free trade agreement with the United States, reported the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington.

The agreement with the Central American countries comes after a full year of negotiations. Costa Rica that also participated of the discussions requested more time to assess the impact of the proposals and postponed a reply until January when it will resume trade talks with the US.

Although some of the more contentious issues were addressed during the negotiations, such as agriculture, textiles and telecommunications, having the treaty approved by the regional legislatures and the US Congress is still another battle.

The White House hopes to send the agreement to Congress in March or April so that it may be approved in June or July.

But President Bush administration admits it faces a tough battle on the Hill since many lawmakers have already voiced objections to some shortcomings in the treaty regarding labour conditions and environmental protection, plus the fact it's presidential election year.