FROM MEMA Industry News
WASHINGTON DC — Michael Cardone Jr., chairman and CEO of CARDONE Industries and chairman of the MEMA Board of Directors, will represent automotive suppliers as one of 18 U.S. business executives appointed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez to join him on a trade mission to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador Oct. 15-22.
This is the first trade mission to the region since the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) was signed by President Bush in August.
“These companies all have one thing in common: They recognize opportunity in Central America, and they are eager to begin doing business in those markets,” Gutierrez said. “Their interest will mean more investment, more trade, and eventually more new jobs in the United States and in Central America.”
The business executives participating in the mission are from large corporations as well as small businesses. They employ as many as several thousand people and as few as 20 and represent industries as diverse as energy, automotive, textiles and medical devices.
The mission will include three stops: Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and San Salvador, El Salvador. In each city, participants will meet with key government and business representatives, Chambers of Commerce and industry, trade associations, and potential business partners.
CAFTA-DR reduces trade barriers between America and Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. It creates the second-largest export market in Latin America for U.S. goods, and the tenth largest market in the world. More than 80 percent of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial goods will become duty-free in Central America immediately.
The U.S. Congress approved the CAFTA-DR in July 2005, and the President signed it into law on August 2. The CAFTA-DR agreement has been approved by the legislatures in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Approval is pending in Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The trade agreement will enter into force on a date to be agreed upon among the countries.
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