Costa Rica and Colombia sign Free Trade Agreement
May 23rd, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Yesterday afternoon, President Laura Chinchilla, along with her Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, signed a Free Trade Agreement between the two nations.
President Chinchilla said that Costa Rica and Colombia have a shared vision, and that free trade is an essential tool for business and social well being for both nations.
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice short-term objectives to see long-term benefits…there is nothing more important to all sectors of the economy than to have clear rules and consistency […] Costa Rica and Colombia are committed to an agenda of competitiveness,” Chinchilla said.
For his part, Santos said that Costa Rica was “the perfect partner,” and that Colombia is making important investments in Central America. Santos said that the FTA would instill more confidence and facilitate further investment.
Trade between Costa Rica and Colombia has doubled in the last decade, from $191 million in 2002 to $390 million in 2012. Exports to Colombia increased 30.5% between 2011 and 2012.
In 2012, Costa Rica imported $326 million worth of goods from Colombia. Some of the most commonly imported goods are fungicides, polypropylene, medicines, perfumes, makeup, and polystyrenes.
ATTENTION: If you are seeing this message,
