El Salvador moves forward with U.S. deal

Washington and El Salvador moved closer to agreement on a $277 million U.S. aid package after the Obama administration took steps to defuse a contentious trade dispute over a modest Salvadoran program to buy seeds for poor farmers.

Liberal Democrats in Congress had complained to Secretary of State John Kerry that trade and foreign aid officials were being too heavy-handed in their approach to the issue.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a foreign aid agency, has been the prime actor in negotiating the five-year compact.

Source: Politico