Negotiations on Free Trade Agreement with China would begin in January
Posted 11-18-2008 at 09:28 AM by emmanuelgr
In two months Costa Rica and China will begin to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The option arose since the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 1, 2007, but had not been formalized until now.
The first of eight rounds of negotiations will take place in San Jose next January 19. The announcement was made yesterday by presidents Oscar Arias of Costa Rica and Hu Jintao of China, following the meeting held on the occasion of the visit by the Asian president to Costa Rica.
The agreement for the commencement of the negotiations was signed yesterday by Presidents Hu and Arias, and by Marco Vinicio Ruiz and Chen Deming, trade ministers from Costa Rica and China, respectively.
The authorities of both governments suggest that the agreement be consented to and signed before the end of the current administration and that the legislators for the next government should be the ones who discuss and approve it.
“We have the will to proactively increase the import of Costa Rican products, while at the same time welcoming Costa Rican business to our Country,” said the Chinese President.
“China is Costa Rica’s second major trade partner, so that this FTA is of enormous importance,” said Arias.
An agreement with China will enable the country to have free access to a market of 1.3 billion people, although some Costa Rican industries have already expressed fear. The fear is because of the possible exemption of tariffs on Chinese products would “flood” the local market with less expensive goods than those produced in the national territory, especially those related to sugar and the food sector.
The trading mechanism would broaden the experience that 90 Costa Rican companies already have and give an advantage to at least 12 products from Costa Rica to get into the Chinese market. Among these products are: coffee, electrical equipment, integrated circuits, leather goods, fruit and vegetables, according to a recently conducted prefeasibility study.
“We are not ruling out the meat or textile industries, but these things will be looked at once the negotiations being," said Marco Vinicio Ruiz, Minister of Foreign Trade, who added that the negotiators will be vigilant to safeguard the Costa Rican interests, alluding to the questions that have arisen regarding the health and quality of Chinese products.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that the domestic market offers advantages to eight Chinese export goods, including clothing, footwear, iron and steel products, machinery, electrical equipment and vehicles.
In recent years Costa Rican exports to China have increased significantly. While $1.082 billion USD were exported in 2006, exports reached just over $ 1.409 billion USD in 2007, considering the effect of Intel's involvement in these figures.
Similarly, sales from China to Costa Rica have been growing. In 2006, Asian businessmen placed products worth $618 million USD in the country. In 2007, the figure was $828 million USD.
The team at TicosLand.com feels a bit of unease because serious and well-planned negotiations need to take place because Chinese production if huge and this could place Costa Rican industries at a competitive disadvantage, not to mention the necessary caution with Chinese practices that have caused damage to the health of consumers.
The option arose since the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 1, 2007, but had not been formalized until now.
The first of eight rounds of negotiations will take place in San Jose next January 19. The announcement was made yesterday by presidents Oscar Arias of Costa Rica and Hu Jintao of China, following the meeting held on the occasion of the visit by the Asian president to Costa Rica.
The agreement for the commencement of the negotiations was signed yesterday by Presidents Hu and Arias, and by Marco Vinicio Ruiz and Chen Deming, trade ministers from Costa Rica and China, respectively.
The authorities of both governments suggest that the agreement be consented to and signed before the end of the current administration and that the legislators for the next government should be the ones who discuss and approve it.
“We have the will to proactively increase the import of Costa Rican products, while at the same time welcoming Costa Rican business to our Country,” said the Chinese President.
“China is Costa Rica’s second major trade partner, so that this FTA is of enormous importance,” said Arias.
An agreement with China will enable the country to have free access to a market of 1.3 billion people, although some Costa Rican industries have already expressed fear. The fear is because of the possible exemption of tariffs on Chinese products would “flood” the local market with less expensive goods than those produced in the national territory, especially those related to sugar and the food sector.
The trading mechanism would broaden the experience that 90 Costa Rican companies already have and give an advantage to at least 12 products from Costa Rica to get into the Chinese market. Among these products are: coffee, electrical equipment, integrated circuits, leather goods, fruit and vegetables, according to a recently conducted prefeasibility study.
“We are not ruling out the meat or textile industries, but these things will be looked at once the negotiations being," said Marco Vinicio Ruiz, Minister of Foreign Trade, who added that the negotiators will be vigilant to safeguard the Costa Rican interests, alluding to the questions that have arisen regarding the health and quality of Chinese products.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that the domestic market offers advantages to eight Chinese export goods, including clothing, footwear, iron and steel products, machinery, electrical equipment and vehicles.
In recent years Costa Rican exports to China have increased significantly. While $1.082 billion USD were exported in 2006, exports reached just over $ 1.409 billion USD in 2007, considering the effect of Intel's involvement in these figures.
Similarly, sales from China to Costa Rica have been growing. In 2006, Asian businessmen placed products worth $618 million USD in the country. In 2007, the figure was $828 million USD.
The team at TicosLand.com feels a bit of unease because serious and well-planned negotiations need to take place because Chinese production if huge and this could place Costa Rican industries at a competitive disadvantage, not to mention the necessary caution with Chinese practices that have caused damage to the health of consumers.
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