After three days of work in the United States, the Guatemalan delegation of Government officials and representatives of the private sector held more than 20 meetings, one of the main ones was with the Office of the United States Commercial Representative (USTR) where the formal application was delivered to initiate the dialogue in order to restore the preferential conditions of trade towards that country based on the FTA, that is to say that the 10% tariff imposed by that country is eliminated.
Now it is waiting that in about two weeks, as of May 27, when the meeting was held, the USTR sends a framework agreement with observations to Guatemala and based on this initiate a dialogue for tariffs on mention.
The request for the start of dialogue was accompanied by a report of concrete actions that Guatemala has taken to address the identified commercial barriers, as well as a support letter signed by representatives of the private sector, it added.
However, during the three -day mission there were also approaches with public and private textile sectors and preparation, agriculture, fruits and vegetables, institutional and business support, as well as legislative coordination, according to the summary of the three -day mission to Washington, released by the Ministries of Public Relations (Minex) and Economics (Mineco).
These institutions said that it was meetings with key actors from the US government, Congress, centers of thought and business associations, with which the other objective is to strengthen bilateral relations, but also position the country as a partner beyond the commercial, as disclosed.
“The sustained meetings reflect our country’s commitment as a reliable and strategic partner for the US, both commercially and in key matters of cooperation, such as security, migration and governance,” said the government in a statement.
“Guatemala reiterated his commitment to be a strategic partner in investment and production, strengthening value chains in the hemisphere and aligning with the economic and security interests of the United States.”
And, he listed the aspects that he describes as advances with strategic alliances, with the different sectors:
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Dialogue with the American Association of Garments and Footwear (AAFA), the Office of Textiles of the Department of Commerce (Otexa) and the National Council of Textile Organizations (NTTO). With them it was reaffirmed that maintaining preferential conditions in textiles and preparation protects jobs and strengthens the integration between the two countries.
With the Department of Agriculture, the US Grains Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation and key members of the Congress, the productive integration and complementarity of the agricultural trade were highlighted.
Advance in alliances with the International Fresh produces Association and the Banana Association of North America.
- Institutional and business support
Dialogues with the Department of Commerce, the State Department and the United States Chamber of Commerce, in addition to organizations such as Atlantic Council, Council of the Americas and the Heritage Foundation. Given these entities, the importance of joint work between the public and private sectors to consolidate lasting relationships was stressed.
- Legislative Coordination
Meetings with advisors of congressmen and senators of key states such as Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri and Texas. With them, support for the strengthening of shared supply chains and bilateral cooperation was reaffirmed.