The competence for the EU's common commercial policy lies with the European Union. Under Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the European Commission conducts the negotiations on behalf of the EU. The Association Agreement between the EU and Central America was signed in 2012, and the trade part of the Agreement, with Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama entered into force on 1 August 2013. This will open up markets for goods, public procurement, services and investment, and should create a stable business and investment environment based on predictable and enforceable trade rules, and should also help to reinforce economic integration. The Agreement includes provisions guaranteeing the protection of human rights, as well as commitments on labour standards and environmental protection that will underpin sustainable development in the region. Another aspect of the Agreement is that it underpins the strengthening of economic integration of the region. This in turn will facilitate the movement of EU goods within Central America through more regional rather than "national" regulations, the use of a single administrative document for customs declarations, the harmonisation of customs procedures, and the elimination of double duties on EU goods moving from one country to another in the region.
The labour and environmental standards which are in the sustainable development chapter of the Agreement reflect international agreements in these areas, to which Ireland is already party. Under the EU-Central America Agreement, an arbitration system and a process that facilitates engagement with civil society are put in place to ensure an adequate degree of public accountability to initiatives that could carry consequences for labour and the environment.
Current Irish exports to the three countries based on 2012 figures are
- Honduras €3 million, of which computers (44%), infant foods (27%) and telecommunications and sound equipment (12%), make up 83% of the total.
- Nicaragua €3.1million, of which computers (45%), infant foods (36%) and medical and pharmaceutical (10%) make up 91% of the total
- Panama €14.7 million, of which medical and pharmaceutical (31%), infant foods (28%), and Spirits and other alcoholic beverages (21%) make up 80% of the total.
I understand that in relation to Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador, the provisions of the Association Agreement concerning Geographical Indications that are a precondition to the entry into force of the Agreement for these countries, have not yet been met.
