The ratification of the US-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) by the US Congress Thursday drew different reactions among governments and opposition forces of the countries participating in the commercial pact.

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have already ratified the treaty, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic yet to do so.

In Managua, Nicaraguan Industry Minister Azucena Castillo said the National Assembly now has to ratify CAFTA-DR, adding that representatives of the Liberal Constitutionalist Party promised they will sign a majority statement to ratify it before next Monday .

According to the official, a recent opinion poll in Nicaragua showed that 62 percent of Nicaraguans support the agreement with the United States. But the opposition Sandinista Front of National Liberation said it will block the legislative approval of CAFTA-DR.

Meanwhile, in San Salvador, Salvadorean President Elias Antonio Saca expressed his satisfaction about the ratification, saying Central America and Dominican Republic have entered "into the major leagues of international trade."

Saca termed the trade agreement, which may come into effect on Jan. 1, 2006, in the four countries that have ratified it, as a "historic step."

Nevertheless, Representative Hugo Martinez, of the opposition party Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, said El Salvador "is not prepared for such a treaty because the development of agriculture and economy is no match for that in the North American country."

The ratification of the commercial pact was also celebrated by the Guatemalan government, as "it grants legal certainty" to foreign investors.

"It is excellent news the document was approved," Economy Minister Marcio Cuevas said in Washington. "Now there is legal certainty." The United States is Guatemala's main trade partner.

In contrast, different trade unions of Guatemala are preparing a protest on Friday against the ratification of CAFTA-DR.

In Santo Domingo, Kevin Manning, president of Dominican Republic's Chamber of Commerce, said the free trade agreement "is a matter of great interests for Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, the United States and the region in general."

Leonardo Valverde, a spokesman for some 15 organizations in north Dominican Republic, said they will start a series of protests against the agreement to ask legislators and the government to "clearly" explain the consequences of CAFTA-DR.

US ambassador to Dominican Republic Hans Hertell said Wednesday that "a delay in the ratification by Dominican Congress would jeopardize foreign investments."

CAFTA-DR was inked on May 24, 2004, by the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the United States, and in August of that year Dominican Republic also signed the agreement.

Source: Xinhua