U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman is recommending that his boss, President George W. Bush, issue a document allowing El Salvador to benefit from the seven-nation CAFTA free-trade agreement beginning March 1. El Salvador, the first nation to ratify the pact, would be the first country to gain an implementation nod from the U.S.
Six of the seven CAFTA countries have ratified the agreement. They are the U.S., the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Costa Rica has yet to ratify the agreement.
