The free trade agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Costa Rica entered into force on August 1, 2016. As a result, 74% of industrial products will become duty-free.
The entry into force (link in Spanish) of this FTA, which was signed on May 22, 2013, will impact the prices of agricultural and industrial inputs, as well as capital and consumer goods.
The main products that Costa Rica exports to Colombia are lead ore, tires, food preparations, medicaments, artificial parts of the body, bars and rods of iron or steel, syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae, and tube or pipe fittings.
The products Costa Rica imports from Colombia include medicaments, polypropylene, fertilizers, fungicides, carbon, woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, polyethylene, perfumes, and make-up.
The Colombian sectors that stand to benefit from the treaty are fertilizers, paints, some textiles and manufactures, and medicaments, motor vehicles, autoparts, and toys.
Within Colombia’s agricultural sector, there will be tariff preferences for 81% of goods, and 60% of these products will have immediate duty-free access.
According to figures from Colombia’s Ministry of Industry, Business, and Tourism (MinCIT) (link in Spanish), bilateral trade between the two countries totaled US$330 million in 2015, US$248 million of which represented Colombian exports to Costa Rica.
