Legislators Approve
Changes For The
Implementation Of The
TLC
By a vote of 31 in
favour and 22 against,
the Legislative Assembly
approved the elimination
of subparagraph 6 or
article 78 of the Ley de
Biodiversidad, that
forms part of the Ley
sobre Propiedad
Intelectual, to avoid
the need for
consultation with the
indigenous.
With the approval,
legislators can now
begin first reading of
the only law yet to be
passed to approve the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - free
trade deal with the
United States.
The inclusion of
subparagraph 6 stalled
the approval of the
Intellectual Property
law, after a Sala
Constitucional
(Constitutional Court)
ruling said the bill was
unconstitutional and
delayed the approval of
the TLC by the September
30 deadline, forcing the
government to ask its
trade partners for an
extension.
Costa Rica was granted
until January 1, 2009,
to implement the free
trade deal after Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arias, met with his US
counterpart, George W.
Bush, and in talks with
the presidents of
Guatemala, Honduras, El
Salvador, Nicaragua and
the Dominican Republic.
Although yesterday's
decision was an
important step in the
long process of getting
the TLC approved,
opponents like the
Partido Acción Ciudadana
(PAC) vow to stall the
process by calling on
legislators to send the
bill back to the
Comisión de Consultas de
Constitucionalidad,
among other legal
alternatives it is
exploring.
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