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11 April 2003 U.S. Reaffirms Commitment to Central America(USTR Zoellick says CAFTA talks on track to conclude in 2003) (660) Washington- President Bush reiterated the United States' strong interest in crafting a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and reaffirmed the U.S. goal of concluding CAFTA negotiations in 2003 during an April 10 White House meeting with Central American leaders, says United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick. "President Bush and the United States are strongly committed to Central America and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)," Zoellick said following a series of meetings April 10 that included President Bush, other senior U.S. administration officials, U.S. congressional leaders and the presidents and trade and foreign ministers of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. These working meetings provided an opportunity to review progress in CAFTA talks and focus on the key challenges ahead, Zoellick said. He added that the meetings also demonstrate that, even in the midst of a war, President Bush and congressional leaders recognize the importance of trade and development in Central America. More broadly, Zoellick noted that the Central American trade talks reflect the Bush administration's continued commitment to the hemisphere. "CAFTA is certainly a signal of the United States' ongoing commitment to the hemisphere during a period that we know is marked with difficulties," he said. The CAFTA talks were launched in January 2003, with subsequent negotiating sessions in Costa Rica, Cincinnati, Ohio, and El Salvador. Zoellick said the talks were going well and according to schedule. "We feel all the signs are positive, we are making excellent progress on the issues," he said. "We believe we are on track to finish the free trade agreement this year." Zoellick indicated that an important component of the Central American leaders' visit to Washington was to build support for CAFTA in congress, noting his pleasure that the presidents were able to take part in a breakfast meeting with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Republican of Tennessee), Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat of South Dakota) and other congressional leaders from the House of Representatives and Senate. Economic issues including agriculture, intellectual property right protection and transparency, as well as other issues such as human rights and democracy, were among the key topics discussed at the breakfast meeting. As in the morning session and in other meetings throughout the day, officials repeatedly outlined that the benefits of CAFTA extend beyond trade, Zoellick said. "Again and again we emphasized that this is more than a trade agreement," the USTR said. "It is about development, it is about opportunity and it is about hope." In order to ensure that these broad benefits are enjoyed in Central America, enhancing the trade capacity of the five nations is crucial. The USTR noted that the United States is sensitive to the different size and developmental levels of its Central American counterparts engaged in the CAFTA talks, and indicated that the trade capacity discussions held on April 10 were "particularly important." United States Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew Natsios and Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias joined the Central American leaders for a working meeting on trade capacity building. This meeting included discussion of practical help on participating in negotiations, assistance in implementing the accord, and the linkage of the CAFTA agreement to structural reforms in the Central American countries, Zoellick noted. In addition to their sessions with congressional leaders and administration officials, Zoellick emphasized it was very important for the CAFTA participants to engage the U.S. business community both in support of the agreement and to ensure the framework established by the accord is one that is seized on by industry. To that end, following their meetings on Capitol Hill, at the White House and with other senior administration officials, the Central American leaders concluded their day in Washington by taking part in a reception at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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