Study Urges C.R., China To Negotiate Trade ASAP
A recent study recommends that Costa Rica and China negotiate a free-trade agreement “as soon as possible,” according to the Foreign Trade Ministry (COMEX).
The study, which analyzed the feasibility of a trade agreement between both countries, was issued after the third meeting of the Costa Rica-China Joint Working Group on July 7 and 8 in the Central Pacific port city of Puntarenas.
The working group concluded that the Costa Rican and Chinese economies complement each other in many important ways, and that a trade agreement would foster economic growth and create jobs benefiting both countries, which have populations needing employment.
The study found that a trade agreement could increase bilateral trade between both countries by approximately 10 percent over their 2007 levels.
Costa Rican exports to China from April 2007 to May totaled $846 million, making it the second largest market for the country’s exports after the United States.
However, the vast majority (upward of 90 percent) of these exports are components of integrated electronic circuits produced by a single company, computer chip manufacturing giant Intel’s Costa Rican operations, according to COMEX.
Costa Rica maintains a large trade surplus with China, which is also the second largest source of Costa Rican imports after the United States. Imports from the Asian giant totaled $763.2 million in 2007, according to COMEX.
To maximize trade opportunities, the study recommended that the agreement should cover all the major trade disciplines, including tariff reductions, services, nontariff barriers, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and trade facilitation.
You may be interested

Government updates Costa Rica decarbonization efforts
The Tico Times - February 24, 2021The Costa Rican government on Wednesday updated the progress of the country's decarbonization efforts. The Presidency says 90.7% of the…

Reminder: Costa Rica’s entry requirements during the coronavirus pandemic
Alejandro Zúñiga - February 24, 2021Since November 1, tourists from anywhere in the world can visit Costa Rica. Visitors can arrive to Costa Rica via…

Costa Rica details March friendlies against Mexico, Bosnia-Herzegovina
The Tico Times - February 24, 2021The Costa Rican men’s soccer team will face Bosnia-Herzegovina and Mexico in March friendlies, and the local federation has provided…