Financial and Professional Services

CAFTA includes provisions on cross-border trade in financial and professional services. As a result, the agreement significantly boosts market access to the services sectors of the CAFTA countries for U.S. service providers, including those in financial services (banking, trade finance, insurance, securities); telecommunications and IT services; architectural, engineering, and design services; accounting and consulting; legal services; education and healthcare; transportation/distribution/logistics; and various other kinds of professional services. The services sector accounts for the majority of jobs—and most job growth—in the U.S. and elsewhere in the developed world. For Florida’s highly service-intensive economy and its numerous service exporters, the opening of the CAFTA markets for financial and professional services is especially important. With the State’s huge Spanish speaking population, and their many cultural and family ties to the region, Florida-based services providers, large and small, have a unique advantage in entering these markets.