Government launches centralized digital platform for foreign trade

Export and import processing time will be significantly reduced in the coming months with the implementation of the new platform for Foreign Trade Single Window 2.0 (VUCE), government authorities announced Wednesday.

The Foreign Trade Ministry and the Foreign Trade Promotion Office explained the system will allow entrepreneurs to access the platform 365 days a year, which places Costa Rica among the nations with the highest standards in the region.

Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez said this platform will be 100 percent automated nationally and internationally, allowing entrepreneurs to obtain permits in a few minutes and generating savings of ¢5,300 million (some $10 million) per year, with 90 percent reduction in processing time.

VUCE system was created in 1996 and currently concentrates on 45 processes of 16 institutions.