On June 8, the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) inaugurated a new business office in Ecuador with the aim of strengthening trade relations between the two countries and promoting exports.

Procomer is responsible for the design and coordination of programs related to exports and investments from Costa Rica, therefore he will enter Ecuador to identify Ecuadorian buyers for goods and services from Costa Rica, he will coordinate trade missions, business agendas and participation in fairs, and in turn, be support for attracting Ecuadorian investments to the Costa Rican market.

This business event was attended by the Ambassador of Costa Rica to Ecuador, Paula Miranda Vargas, the Minister of Production and Foreign Trade of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, Indiana Trejos.

The Procomer office will be located in Guayaquil and will be a showcase for the business sector that will allow them to know what Costa Rica offers to the world and how Ecuador can become a business partner, as it will provide advice and support to interested Costa Rican exporters in entering the Ecuadorian market, as they will it should also be a support for attracting Ecuadorian investments to the Costa Rican market.

Costa Rica will have the first commercial office of its Foreign Trade Promoter in Ecuador

Procomer’s inaugural event was attended by more than 50 Ecuadorian businessmen who were informed in detail about the recent signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, which will give Costa Rica access to a 18 million HRK market. consumers.

In terms of business opportunities, Costa Rica expects to benefit from non-traditional, agro-industrial and manufacturing sectors.

This trade agreement will provide preferential access for more than 90% of Costa Rican products to the Ecuadorian market, as well as the removal of non-tariff barriers and trade facilitation.

The process for a free trade agreement between Ecuador and Costa Rica started in October 2021 and concluded in 2022. and this agreement includes issues such as market access, rules of origin, trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade defense, customs cooperation, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property, electronic commerce, services and investment. According to the Ministry

Costa Rica’s foreign trade, trade between the two countries will reach $260 million in 2022.

Ambassador of Costa Rica in Ecuador, Paula Miranda Vargas, He noted that in recent years, a painstaking process of coordinated technical work of the trade department and foreign trade promoters of both countries has been taking place. Since 2019, Procomer has managed various activities that have allowed it to become known in the Ecuadorian market, as well as missions focused on agricultural inputs and education; where an interest in establishing a company has been observed. In addition, the exchange between universities in both countries has been strengthened.

The commercial exchange between Ecuador and Costa Rica in 2022 reached about 110 million dollars, and exports from Ecuador to Costa Rica amounted to 40 million dollars, while exports from Costa Rica to Ecuador reached an approximate amount of 70 million dollars in products such as waste, iron waste, medical supplies and food utensils.

Minister of Production and Foreign Trade of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, He highlighted the record six months it took to sign a free trade agreement with Costa Rica, which promotes issues of productivity, cost reduction, reduction of tariffs and red tape. He further said that this trade agreement includes a special chapter on environmental sustainability and gender inclusion.

For Ecuador, this trade agreement will strengthen trade related to production. There were 20 negotiating tables and it is the first agreement to achieve high standards, which is the backbone of Ecuador’s trade opening strategy, the official added.

This FTA covers 20 disciplines highlighting market access, intellectual property, electronic commerce and some with a societal focus. For Ecuador, a country like Costa Rica is important, not only because of large corporations, large companies and investments, but in the process of internationalization it was determined that eight out of ten companies exporting to Costa Rica and seven out of ten exporting to the world are micro, small or medium-sized companies.

He revealed that this document is before the Constitutional Court for approval and subsequent ratification by the National Assembly, after Ecuadorians go to the polls to elect the parliament next August.