Report on the current status of current trade agreements in the Central American region in the dairy sector: opportunities and challenges for their best use

The report presents an “x-ray” of the current state of trade agreements and their commitments, the degree of trade liberalization achieved, as well as the actions that the countries of the region have achieved in terms of their administration and, in particular, the use of the opportunities that these trade agreements mean. The main trade agreements available in the six Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) are analyzed. The importance of these instruments being combined with successful public policies and broad participation of the private sector to achieve the expected benefits is recognized, and that exogenous elements also affect the development and results of these commercial associations. The construction of the report was carried out based on a preliminary study on the main trade agreements carried out in 2021, the content of which was analyzed and enriched in national dialogues that took place in each of the countries, between the public and private sectors, during the 2022 and 2023.