Costa Rica and China

Bilateral trade and investment should grow, following the negotiation this week of a free trade agreement. The Costa Rican legislature is expected within two months to ratify the deal, which reduces Chinese barriers to the importation of various Costa Rican live plants and processed foods, among other products.

The agreement will at the same time cut tariffs on imports of Chinese-made consumer electronics. Costa Rica's biggest brewery and second-biggest juice-maker already exports its products to China (the photo shows Nanjing students drinking Tropical-brand fruit juice, while wearing Imperial-beer T-shirts).

The agreement comes on the heels of an announcement last week of China's interest in refitting and expanding Costa Rica's Caribbean-coast oil refinery, involving an investment of up to $1 billion.

The project would likely include an extension of the country's oil pipeline to the Pacific port of Caldera. Costa Rica`s pipeline currently runs from the Caribbean port of Moín to the capital, San José.

Opportunities

• Exporters of processed tropical products
• Importers of consumer electronics
• Engineers
• Construction companies