U.S. Trade Rep expects CAFTA decisions soon

U.S. Trade Rep expects CAFTA decisions soon    A spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. trade Representative said Monday that a decision on an implementation schedule for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will be made before the end of the year.
   “The U.S. is prepared to implement the free-trade agreement among the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) as soon as possible with those countries that the United States has determined to have taken sufficient steps to complete their commitments. An announcement of whether any of the CAFTA-DR signatories will be ready by January 1 will be made before the end of the year. After January 1, the United States will put the agreement into force with the other countries on a rolling basis,' spokesman Christin Baker said.
   “We want CAFTA-DR to start as close as possible to January 1, 2006, so that U.S. and regional businesses can begin taking advantage of the Agreement’s benefits in the shortest possible time,' she added.