Asunción, Paraguay — The tenth meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Investment was held yesterday in Asunción. The U.S. delegation was led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas Everett Eissenstat. Manuel Caceres, Vice Minister of Economic Relations and Integration led the Paraguayan delegation.
“Yesterday’s meeting allowed us to continue our collaborative efforts to expand economic opportunities for businesses and investors in both of our nations,” said Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Everett Eissenstat.
During the meeting, the two governments discussed Paraguay’s implementation of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and associated Action Plan regarding the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in Paraguay to the end of 2011. IPR protection has been a longstanding focus of U.S.-Paraguay trade relations.
Both countries agreed to continue their work focused on the exchange of information on the experience of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. and Paraguay, and to identify opportunities for the JCTI work agenda to address the needs of such businesses and their workers.
Background
Paraguay is currently the United States’ 85th largest goods trading partner with $1.4 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2009. Goods exports totaled $1.4 billion; Goods imports totaled $56 million. The U.S. goods trade surplus with Paraguay was $1.3 billion in 2008
The Joint Commission on Trade and Investment was established in 2004 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Government of Paraguay in order to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations. The previous meeting was held in Washington, D.C. on November 20, 2009.
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