1 week ago
9
It happened some three weeks ago, but the significance to trade may have been watered down due to the absence of an indepth explanation of the partial scope agreement between El Salvador and Belize. After nearly three years of negotiations, the two countries officially signed a historic Partial Scope Agreement in August. It is an agreement that is set to open new markets for Belizean products and driving cross-border investment. Beyond tariff reductions, the deal establishes a Bilateral Trade and Investment Promotion Group to oversee technical cooperation, joint projects, capacity building, and knowledge sharing between the two nations. Speaking on the milestone, Chief Executive Officer for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ambassador Oscar Arnold, highlighted the strategic importance of the accord for local exporters and investors.
Oscar Arnold, CEO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “So the significance of the signing was to say that, okay now both countries can take this to their legislature and have it enacted into law and from there then the private sector on both sides on Salvador and Belize can start to take ownership of that document and have that document work for them. I believe there’s close to 267/287 products from Belize that can enter Salvador either tariff free or with greatly vastly reduced tariffs. And I believe they have about 400 that can also penetrate our markets. The important thing there is that Salvador is an economy based on a lot of manufacturing. Belize is agriculture. And so there was almost a complementary role when it came to looking at which products would enter Salvador and which would enter Belize. For example, they also have manufacturing in pharmaceuticals and certain machinery and so it’s a good deal. It’s a document that is a partial scope agreement that can benefit both countries.”
The agreement grants selected Belizean goods preferential access to the Salvadoran market, reducing tariffs, removing trade barriers, and setting up a clear framework to settle trade disputes. Unlike a full free-trade deal, the Partial Scope Agreement applies specifically to negotiated products and sectors, offering strategic market diversification designed to reduce Belize’s reliance on traditional trading partners. Interestingly, members of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with business representatives from Spanish Lookout and other local sectors, traveled to El Salvador to participate directly in the trade mission and build direct commercial ties. CEO Arnold spoke on the unprecedented involvement of the local business community at the event.
Oscar Arnold, CEO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “But one of the first times with something like this, we had the Chamber of Commerce present. I believe their president and their general manager was there representing the business community of Belize. We had the Chamber of Commerce of Spanish Lookout there. We had individual private head of businesses that also made the trip to El Salvador. We also had, if I can remember correctly, the Belize Hotel Association represented in El Salvador because there is a tourism component as well. And that was very interesting because Salvador now is boasting one of the more visited tourist sites, tourist countries in Central America. And so we want to see if we can create any linkages and synergies there. How it trickles down is that, for example, if we have our cattle entering the market in Salvador we have close to 5,000 or 6,000 cattle ranchers, with about more than 60% of them being small cattle ranchers with 50 heads or less. And so that farmer who purchases diesel or gasoline, who purchases feed and who purchases goods and services in Belize will be able to sell their cattle in that market and then that economic effect then just circles into our economy. For example, the Courts brand and the TropiGas brand that’s in Belize that sells appliances, the owners of that company they’re based in El Salvador. And so we already see some level of trade and commerce taking place, but I believe this opens it up even further for more of that.”
Negotiations with El Salvador date back to December 2023 when both nations launched their first round of talks. The signing delegation in San Salvador was led by Minister of State for Foreign Trade Marconi Leal Junior, alongside CEO Arnold, Director General for Foreign Trade Andy Sutherland, and Ambassador Emile Mena. /
English (US) ·