The Costa Rican government has asked the US government to pause the tariffs announced last Thursday while negotiations between both countries continue. Costa Rican authorities believe this would alleviate the concerns of exporters and enable them to design a strategy that will allow the country to face this challenge.
“Costa Rica, like 184 other nations around the world, is affected by the recent decision of the US government to impose tariffs on goods exported to that market. Although the 10 percent tariff on our exports is the minimum, we are aware of the concerns it raises for our export sector,” said the country’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Manuel Tovar.
Meanwhile, the Costa Rican government has assured that it will continue working to defend the country’s interests, mitigate the effects of this decision, and protect the competitiveness of national exports.
Along the same lines, Tovar has indicated that, in response to a request from the Presidency, his team is already working on analyzing the content and scope of Trump’s resolution, as well as coordinating “a strategy to address this challenge and seek to restore the market conditions that existed prior” to it.
To this end, Costa Rica has so far taken “specific actions” such as creating a high-level inter-institutional team, opening channels of dialogue with the export sector, and intensifying, in a very constructive manner, talks with the US while diversifying markets to promote greater integration of our economy into the world.
Donald Trump announced on Thursday the imposition of new tariffs on dozens of trading partners, including a global minimum of 10 percent and levies starting at 15 percent for countries with a trade surplus with the US.
The document released by the White House includes a list of nearly 70 countries, in addition to the European Union, to which specific tariffs ranging from a minimum of 10 percent to 41 percent will be applied, as in the case of Syria. Those states not included in the list will have a predetermined tax of 10 percent.
The National Chamber of Agriculture and Agroindustry (CNAA) pointed out that this measure implemented by the United States will further harm the national agricultural sector.
“At a time when Costa Rican agriculture is facing major challenges, reflected in more than seven months of negative figures according to the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE), this announcement further aggravates the situation of thousands of producers who struggle every day to sustain their activities,” they said.
They believe tariff hike also highlights a loss of effectiveness of free trade agreements and the weakening of legal protection for signatory countries. They emphasize that it is time for the Ministry of Foreign Trade to reflect on the relevance of agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Pacific Alliance, about which the sector has repeatedly expressed concerns regarding their possible negative impact on agriculture.
The Chamber demands that the government provide “clear explanations” and take concrete actions to defend Costa Rican agriculture from external decisions that, they warn, are placing it in “an even more critical situation.”
The CNAA concludes its statement by reiterating the urgency of protecting thousands of domestic producers from tariff increases and calls for a firm stance from the government in defense of the agricultural sector.
“This new blow shows that such concessions were, in many cases, given in exchange for nothing. It is urgent that the government provide clear explanations and take concrete action to defend the national agricultural sector,” the CNAA mentioned
