El Salvador will lead efforts to strengthen trade integration between Central America and the United States after assuming the presidency of the Federation of Chambers and Associations of Industry of Central America and the Dominican Republic (FECAICA). Jorge Arriaza, president of the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI), was elected on January 16, 2026, in what he described as recognition that “El Salvador is now a regional benchmark.”
During his one-year term, Arriaza will focus on improving logistics corridors, facilitating regional trade, strengthening value chains, and advancing a regional energy plan. He emphasized that boosting value chains is key to expanding exports to the U.S. and integrating more regional production into North American supply networks.
The strategy includes identifying goods that can be produced within Central America to replace certain imports from China. “There are still many products that can be made in the region and integrated into a final product,” Arriaza said, highlighting the textile and apparel sector as a successful example of regional cooperation, particularly among El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
El Salvador will also promote the creation of a coordinated regional energy plan to expand renewable generation and lower production costs. In addition, the FECAICA presidency aims to advance infrastructure projects under the Regional Mobility and Logistics Master Plan 2035 and remove trade barriers that limit the efficient movement of goods across borders.