Costa Rica rules out any kind of retaliation from the administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with whom it maintains an «excellent» relationship, and does not fear that its main trading partner will impose tariffs that could greatly affect its economy, which depends on exports to the North American country (representing 45% of its trade balance).
However, the Costa Rican government is focused on diversifying the country’s trade relations. In this task, the European Union, which accounts for 22% of the country’s exports, plays a key role, with significant potential to increase the already existing historical ties between the EU and the Central American region.
«We are looking for more markets and strengthening our ties with Europe, which is our second largest trading partner. We see room for improvement in this trade balance,» said Manuel Tovar, Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Trade, in an interview with Europa Press.
A small country like Costa Rica is heavily dependent on global trade and multilateralism, which is why it is somewhat concerned about the erosion of international trade and a weak trade organization. Similarly, its position is against protectionist efforts by countries like the United States, although the Costa Rican government hopes to maintain ties with this country.
NO PROBLEMS FOR THE UNITED STATES
Recently, Costa Rica received a visit from the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as part of his first international trip since taking office under Donald Trump’s administration. In this meeting, Rubio was able to see, according to Tovar, that Costa Rica does not export people like other Central American nations do, but rather is a country where there are no political or economic reasons for its population to mass migrate to the United States, as is the case in other parts of the region.
«We are the country with the highest salary in Latin America and the Caribbean and we have employment opportunities. People do not leave due to economic reasons or lack of freedoms. Marco Rubio was able to see this during his visit and encouraged us to continue being the kind of country we are, one that does not cause problems,» highlighted Tovar.
In this context, it is worth noting that Costa Rica’s commercial relationship with China is very limited and practically limited to the import of certain industrial goods that the Asian giant sells very cheaply. Costa Rica, by constitutional mandate and by vocation, does not exploit its natural resources, which is one of the reasons why China has not shown interest in the country, unlike other parts of South America, for example.
«The value proposition of Costa Rica is not of interest to China. There is no Chinese investment, as such, and we do not see room for an increase in the relationship,» states Tovar, asserting that the White House lacks arguments in this regard to impose tariffs on Costa Rica.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUROPE
Given this situation, Tovar believes there are opportunities for Spain and Europe, as it is a destination that offers tax incentives in its free trade zones for international companies, which do not have to pay taxes if they meet certain standards and legal criteria.
«Costa Rica can offer Spain a natural partner in a region rich in natural resources and with a highly competitive human resource,» defends Tovar. Previously, the small country was known for exporting coffee, bananas, or pineapples, but now it is emerging as a leader in semiconductors, services (44% of its exports), or pharmaceutical industry goods.
In the semiconductor sector, Costa Rica defends its mature market and sophisticated participation in global supply chains, opening a space for collaboration with EU countries that want to ensure their autonomy in this field and source these valuable goods for the 21st-century industry.
In addition to Europe, Costa Rica aims to continue deploying a successful strategy to diversify its exports, negotiating a network of trade agreements that provide «preferential» access to two-thirds of the world’s GDP.
«The assessments of who we trade with and how we trade are assumptions that Costa Rica approaches with responsibility,» affirms the minister.
Canada, Mexico, Chile, and South Korea are some of the countries with which the Central American nation already has trade agreements, while Ecuador, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates are some of the countries with which it hopes to close a treaty soon.
Although relations with the Middle East stand out, Tovar believes that Costa Rica should look more «southward» towards its neighbors in Latin America, a region that is not well integrated and with which it has historically had very little trade.
«We must rely less on a single market. The more markets we have, the more we mitigate risks related to political issues, geopolitics, armed conflicts, natural disasters… I believe that is the best vaccine,» concludes Tovar.
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