No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveCosta Rica resumes free-trade negotiations with Colombia

Costa Rica resumes free-trade negotiations with Colombia

Officials from Costa Rica and Colombia on Monday began a fourth round of free-trade negotiations that are expected to address the most sensitive issues of market access, officials said.

“We enter the final stage of a negotiation that seeks to achieve a balance between our offensive and defensive interests,” Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González said in San José, where talks are taking place.

She said that in a previous round of talks officials closed 41 chapters in access to markets and 70 chapters on specific rules, among which are those applied to meat, fruits, vegetables, coffee, milk, cereals, pharmaceuticals and aluminum products.

However, rules remain unresolved for access to a number of industrial products that Costa Rica asked to exclude from the treaty, arguing they would be at a disadvantage position against Colombian products.

The list includes plastic, chemicals, textiles, electronics, leather, footwear, paper and cardboard.

“Negotiations with Colombia are a natural step for Costa Rica, which would increase our presence in this market and promote the creation of larger and stronger trade links in South America, beyond those we already have with Chile and Perú,” González said.

The treaty also “opens the opportunity for Costa Rica to become a full member of the Pacific Alliance, which will strengthen the bonds with major Latin American economies such as Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia,” she added.

In 2011, Costa Rica exported to Colombia $48 million in goods and services and imported $455 million. Officials hope that the signing of the treaty will enhance opportunities for domestic producers in a market of 46 million people with a higher purchasing power.

Trending Now

Flying Around Costa Rica is Easier Than Ever Thanks to Sansa Airlines

The airline recently added two new aircraft to its fleet, bringing their total to twelve. That increase allows SANSA to boost service to smaller...

Costa Rica’s Olympic Hero Claudia Poll Alleges Abuse by Famed Swim Coach

Claudia Poll, Costa Rica's only Olympic gold medalist, and two other former swimmers from the country, alleged on Monday that they suffered psychological, physical,...

Exiled NGO Slams Bukele’s Rule as Repeat of Authoritarian Past

Salvadorans deserve “something better” than living between “gangs or dictatorship,” said Noah Bullock, director of the influential NGO Cristosal, in an interview. On Thursday,...

El Salvador at Center of Controversial U.S.-Venezuela Detainee Exchange

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele received the 10 Americans exchanged on Friday between Washington and Caracas for 252 Venezuelans who had spent four months in...

Costa Rican Economists Raise Alarm Over U.S. Cash Transfer Tax

In 2026, the U.S. government will impose a 1% tax on cash remittances sent from the United States to Latin America. Electronic transfers will...

Costa Rican Lottery Official Investigated in Money Laundering Case

Another money laundering case has shaken Costa Rica. Following a series of raids that dismantled a laundering network operating through legal and illegal lottery...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica