LatinNews Daily - 07 September 2023

* Guatemala has joined the free trade agreement (FTA) that South Korea signed with five other Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) in 2018. According to a press release from Guatemala’s economy ministry, Economy Minister Luz Pérez met with South Korea’s minister of commerce, industry and energy, Dukgeun Ahn, to sign the agreement which it said “will play an important role in… strengthening the existing economic relationship between both countries”. According to the press release, Guatemala is already South Korea’s top trading partner in Central America. In 2022, Guatemalan exports to South Korea totalled US$163m, while South Korean imports to Guatemala totalled US$390m. The main exports from Guatemala to South Korea are ferronickel (accounting for 43% of the export total) and coffee (39%), whereas the main imports from Korea to Guatemala are freight vehicles (13%) and diesel (9%). Pérez stated “these figures are a clear testament to the trade opportunities before us”, with the FTA seeking to remove tariffs on approximately 95% of goods traded by both countries.