COSTA RICA TARGETS STRATEGIC TRADE DEALS ACROSS THE GLOBE.

costadevelopers.com

Government officials say they are looking for agreements with countries that fulfill certain import needs and provide key export opportunities for Costa Rica.

In the past two years, Costa Rica approved a free trade agreement with China and entered into negotiations with the European Union, among others.

Costa Rica proposed many years ago to diversify its export destinations, and these free trade agreements help us quite a bit. They’re very valuable tools for us, not only for increasing exports, but also for expanding the reach of our country’s products.

COSTA RICA’S FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS

APPROVED

CAFTA (Dominican Republic – Central America – United States)

Costa Rica approved the controversial Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (better known as CAFTA) long after other countries in the region. The agreement barely survived a public referendum on Oct. 7, 2007, and went into effect in late December of the same year. The U.S. is Costa Rica’s biggest trade partner.

Canada

Canada and Costa Rica have had a free trade agreement since the turn of the millennium. But the countries began to modernize the pact in November 2011. Costa Rican Foreign Trade Vice Minister Fernando Ocampo told The Tico Times that a modernized agreement should be signed by mid-October.

Caricom

The Caribbean Community, or Caricom, is made up of 15 small Caribbean nations including Belize, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis. Costa Rica signed the agreement with Caricom in 2004.

China

Costa Rica and China established diplomatic relations in June 2007. Negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Asian giant began soon after. President Laura Chinchilla signed the agreement into law in June 2011.

Chile

Chile completed a free trade agreement that went into effect in February 2001 with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Panama

Costa Rica and Panama have long maintained strong bilateral relations. The countries signed a trade agreement on Aug. 7, 2007. Panama is Costa Rica’s third-largest importer.

Central America

Since 1993, Costa Rica has had a free trade agreement with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Mexico

Costa Rica’s first free trade agreement established outside of the isthmus came with Mexico in 1994. As business and trade grows between the two countries, the respective governments intend to update the terms of the agreement.

Dominican Republic

Since 2002, Costa Rica has had an agreement with the island nation of 10 million.

IN PROCESS

European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

The European Free Trade Association is comprised of Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The group is negotiating with Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Guatemala on a free trade agreement.

Singapore

Costa Rica is hoping to take advantage of the Asian island nation’s growing economy by negotiating an agreement with Singapore.

Colombia

Talks between the governments of Costa Rica and Colombia on a free trade deal began in June. When the discussions began, Colombian President Juan Manual Santos said, “we hope this agreement will be ready by the end of the year.” The first round of negotiations took place July 30-Aug. 3 in Bogotá.

Peru

In May 2011, The Tico Times wrote that Peru and Costa Rica were finalizing a free trade agreement. Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González and members of the Foreign Trade Promotion Office met with Peruvian Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Eduardo Ferreyros and members of the Peruvian Trade Chamber to complete the details of deal. However, since then, the agreement has lingered in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly, awaiting approval. Negotiations between the two Latin American nations began in September 2010.

European Union

Central America and the European Union started working on a deal this year to further political dialogue, cooperation and trade. The trade section of the agreement will enter into force by early 2013, after passage by participating countries’ legislators. In 2010, the EU was Central America’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, representing almost 9.4 percent of trade, or $15 billion.

South Korea

After President Laura Chinchilla traveled to Seoul last month, the two countries agreed to explore a free trade agreement. The result came during talks between Chinchilla and her South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak.

This posted by Costa Developers.