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Johanna Hill
"Central America has the conditions to intentionally present itself as an effective investment platform for foreign trade."
Managing Partner, CATRADE Consulting GroupHe currently advises companies involved in international trade operations on issues such as trade agreement utilization, market access studies, compliance with rules of origin, import and export quota management, and unfair competition cases, among others. He also works with companies on issues related to Central American economic integration, especially in the areas of tariff harmonization, safeguard measures, customs procedures, and special regimes.
For more than 15 years, Johanna Hill has worked on foreign trade issues and, from 2007 to 2009, served as El Salvador's Deputy Minister of Economy. She served as Chief Negotiator for El Salvador in the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union, the Doha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization, the negotiations with Canada, and the Central American economic integration process. Hill holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master's degree in International Relations from Columbia University in New York, United States.
Reynaldo Vasquez
"Foreign trade strategies must be based on accurate and timely information."
partner of CATRADE Consulting Group, a specialist in international trade, particularly in the areas of World Trade Organization (WTO) legislation, investment, customs matters, tax incentives, dispute settlement, antidumping, and countervailing duties. She currently advises and/or represents clients on matters related to compliance with El Salvador's international obligations (e.g., WTO and CAFTA), investor-state cases, investigations related to rules of origin, dumping, safeguards, and litigation related to international trade. She was a member of the private sector team that negotiated reforms to the Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Trade Zones to comply with WTO obligations and regularly advises clients operating under that regime and the International Services Law.
He served as Director of Trade Policy at the Ministry of Economy and Deputy Director of Trade Policy at the Ministry of Economy. For five years, he was a member of El Salvador's negotiating team, participating in WTO negotiations within the framework of Central American economic integration and in free trade agreements with the European Union, Canada, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Colombia. He also served as Legal Advisor in the ratification and implementation process of the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic, and the United States (CAFTA-DR). Reynaldo holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the Doctor José Matías Delgado University and is authorized to practice law and public notary public in El Salvador.
Claudia Umana Araujo
"The trade agreements signed by the region have created a new reality that demands greater knowledge and specialization."
Founding Partner of CATRADE Consulting Group, a lawyer and legal researcher specializing in international trade, democratic institutions, governance, transparency, state modernization, and international law. She currently chairs the Board of Directors of the Democracy – Transparency – Justice Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development of El Salvador (FUSADES). She also coordinates the Processing Facilitation Board of the Competitiveness Initiative of El Salvador.
From 2005 to 2009, she served as Director of the Legal Studies Department at FUSADES. She was Director of Trade Policy for the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador, with the rank of Special Ambassador for Trade Negotiations. She has also worked in corporate and commercial law. In 2014, she was awarded the "Bernardo O'Higgins Order" by the Chilean government, in the rank of Officer.
Claudia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the Doctor José Matías Delgado University and is licensed to practice law and serve as a Notary Public in El Salvador.