An “Early Harvest Agreement between Nicaragua and China”, signed on July 12, 2022, was sent by President Daniel Ortega to the Legislative Power, controlled by his regime and its collaborationist allies, to be approved this Thursday, September 8 and enter formally in force.
The agreement is part of the commercial exchange under the restoration of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, which Ortega intends to offer as an economic alternative to Nicaragua’s international isolation due to the authoritarian and repressive drift of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The “early harvest agreement” It will supposedly allow Nicaragua’s commercial exchange with the second largest economy in the world of export and import goods with preferential tariffs, such as vehicle harnesses, textiles, beef, seafood, vegetables and rum, among others.
There are 66 products and supplies from Nicaragua those who are covered by the benefits of this agreement. Among these stand out: beef, lobster, crabs, shrimp, prawns, sea cucumber, kidney beans, chick peas, contact lenses, peas, peanuts, rums, t-shirts, jackets, vests, pants, underpants and vehicle products.
The Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Iván Acosta, predicted during the signing in July, “that taking into account that China is the largest global consumer market and we are food exporters, we are going to expand rapidly to reach and probably surpass the next two or three years, more than 1,000 million dollars in exports, to gradually close the existing trade gap”.
In the case of products from the People’s Republic of China, the agreement sent to the legislature details 78 supplies and products of the Asian giant that would enter the Nicaraguan market with commercial advantages.
Among these products stand out: floral arrangements, vegetable and tobacco seedlings, trees, bushes, onions, sardines, sweet corn, beans (beans, kidney beans, kidney beans), peas, salmon, sardines, powders to prepare sweets, insecticides, animal feed, toys, mineral waters, pasta, tuna, toasted bread, sweet cookies, powders for preparing sweet breads and compound preparations for beveragesamong others.
The initiative of the Ortega regime was sent to the Foreign Affairs Commission so that, together with the Production, Economy and Budget Commission, they carry out an expeditious process of consultation and opinion, so that it can be approved during the resumption of the plenary sessions of the Legislative Power, scheduled for this Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Presentation of the Initiative for the Approval Decree of the Early Harvest Agreement of the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of Nicaragua and the Government of the People’s Republic of China. pic.twitter.com/qtpbHcdAWd
– Nicaraguan National Assembly (@AsambleaNi) September 6, 2022
Talks begin to sign an FTA with China
Parallel to the discussion and certain approval of the early harvest agreement, the Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce (Mific), Jesús Bermúdez, reported on Monday, September 5, that the Governments of China and Nicaragua will begin negotiating a Free Trade Agreement ( TLC) in the last days of September.
“At the end of this month we are going to have the first negotiation between heads and coordinators of the negotiation,” said the official through the propaganda media of the Ortega regime.
In that meeting, “it will be to determine the guidelines, scope, working groups and the date of the meetings to move forward in this process,” he explained.
According to the official, the FTA between the Central American country and the Asian giant “is going to include, we believe, 90% of the entire tariff universe, that is, everything we produce, with certain exceptions that are sensitive products for Nicaragua and China.”
The relations of Ortega’s Nicaragua with Continental China
The People’s Republic of China and Nicaragua they resumed diplomatic relations on December 10, 2021, a day after the regime announced the breaking of any ties with Taiwan, one of its most faithful and generous donors.
The break with Taiwan It was accompanied by a statement from the Ortega regime in support of the Asian giant’s claim to this island, which it considers part of its territory.
“The Government of Nicaragua recognizes and agrees to abide by the principle of one China, breaks its so-called ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan, reestablishes diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, and undertakes not to have any relations or contacts with official status with Taiwan,” said the statement read by the foreign minister of the Ortega regime, Denis Moncada Colindres.
The agreement to resume diplomatic relations with China was signed by Laureano and Rafael Ortega Murillosons of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo and who served as de facto foreign ministers in this process of reestablishing ties with the Asian giant, 31 years after their breakup.
*With information from EFE
