The FINANCIAL -- El Salvador has continued to liberalize its trade regime since its previous Trade Policy Review in 2003, and has made progress in modernizing customs, eliminating unnecessary licensing requirements, enhancing the transparency of technical regulations and SPS measures, and strengthening the institutional framework for competition policy and government procurement.

As part of its liberalization efforts, El Salvador has also entered into three new preferential trade agreements and continues to assign high priority to deepening Central American integration, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of El Salvador.

Economic growth has been modest, and is underpinned by remittances from abroad. In addition, the performance of the manufacturing sector has been below expectations, notwithstanding El Salvador’’s long-standing policy of granting subsidies and fiscal privileges to exporters.

The report says that El Salvador would best address the challenges it faces by taking additional steps to liberalize its trade regime on an MFN basis and reassessing its export strategy with a view to eliminating economic distortions.

The report, along with a policy statement by the Government of El Salvador, will be the basis for the third Trade Policy Review (TPR) of El Salvador by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 10 and 12 February 2010.

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