| Costa Rica signs DR-CAFTA agreement |
| Domican-Today |
| 11/24/2007 |
Source: The Dominican Today
San Jose (Costa Rica).- The
DR-CAFTA free trade pact between the Central
American countries, the Dominican Republic and
the United States was signed into law in Costa
Rica on Wednesday amid protests and a large
military deployment.
President Oscar
Arias signed DR-CAFTA into law at the presidency
while hundreds of demonstrators surrounded the
building in protest, reported La Nacion
newspaper. The issue is still mired in
controversy after a narrow victory for the free
trade agreement in an October 7 referendum.
Troops were deployed
in 100m perimeter surrounding the presidential
headquarters to contain protesters and for fear
of a repeat of the huge protests that preceded
the DR-CAFTA referendum.
The free trade agreement is scheduled to start in March
2008, but the legislature needs to pass 12 complementary laws in order for it to enter into effect.
Costa Rica is the last of the DR-CAFTA nations to sign the agreement, which has already taken effect
in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El
Salvador.
The White House pressed hard for the U.S. Congress to ratify the deal in 2005, when it passed the House of
Representatives by just two votes. |
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