Andean Trade Ministers to define Priorities of Integration Process

Caracas, Dec. 7, 2000- The Andean Community Trade Ministers agreed to meet in Lima in early 2001, on January 13 and 14, to consider in depth the status of the integration process at present, set priorities, and spur negotiations with the Hemisphere and with the Mercosur.

So it was decided at the conclusion of a meeting of the Andean Community Commission (CAN) in Caracas, where four decisions were adopted, on maritime aspects, statistics, services, and the budget of the Andean Court of Justice, respectively.

The Commission members were encouraged by the performance of intracommunity trade, which recovered heavily in December 2000 with a 27 percent increase, almost tripling the growth rate of world trade in goods, according to estimates prepared by the CAN General Secretariat.

Preliminary statistics reveal that the trade between the five countries will amount this year to 5 billion 21 million dollars, up sharply from the low level of 3 billion 940 million dollars in 1999, when trade was hard hit by international financial crises.

CAN Secretary General Sebastián Alegrett was emphatic in praising "the positive attitude taken by the Commission" in adopting four Decisions and showing an interest in strengthening Andean integration by scheduling an exercise in reflection for January 2001 at the organization’s headquarters in Lima.

The Decision on Maritime Guarantees and the Pre-judgment Attachment of Vessels is intended to promote and reinforce merchant marines in the subregion by endowing water transportation with an up-to-date and harmonized legislative framework that will provide appropriate security for investments that are made in that area.

The Community’s Statistical Program for 2000-2004 approved today, spells out the details of the approaches, spheres of application, and objectives of the actions to be undertaken in this area for the purpose of ensuring the coherence and comparability of all statistical data in the CAN.

The Ministers also agreed to extend the deadline for presentation of the inventory of restrictions on the trade in services until March 31, 2001, at which time they will direct their efforts to approving the Decision that will usher in the liberalization of this sector, which is expected to be complete by 2005.

Commission sources underscored the importance of the January meeting in that it will make it possible to "probe the progress of integration, rethink and evaluate the orientation given to its institutions, seek out constructive formulas for overcoming disagreements, strengthen the single spokesmanship and coordination in regard to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and boost the agreements with the Mercosur."

Attending the Caracas meeting were Trade Ministers Claudio Mansilla Peña, of Bolivia; Marta Lucía Ramírez, of Colombia; Roberto Peña Durini, of Ecuador; Emilio Navarro, of Peru; and Luisa Romero, of Venezuela.