The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Costa Rica and South Korea will be signed on December 9th in Buenos Aires, Argentina, prior to the start of the Eleventh Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which will run from December 10th to 13th.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Alexander Mora, who assured they are still working on the details.
In general terms, this FTA will allow 80% of Costa Rican products to enter the Korean market free of tariffs once the treaty enters into force. 16% will be in a reduction period and the remaining 4.4% will be excluded.
In the field of imports, Costa Rica granted 69.2% of Korean products for immediate free trade. 27% will be in a reduction period, and 4.8% will be excluded.
Costa Rica excluded from its tariff reduction program a series of products such as potatoes, onions, carrots, sweet peppers, oranges and tangerines, coffee, rice, beef, pork, chicken, dairy products, fresh eggs, canned tuna, flour wheat or corn, refined vegetable oils, sausages, sugar, confectionery, chocolates, pasta, biscuits, cereal products, ice cream, alcoholic beverages, dog or cat food, ethyl alcohol, PVC tubes; certain strips and sheets of plastic; plastic bags; tires for automobiles; wooden doors and furniture; glass containers; construction rod; pipes and certain steel profiles; control panels and electrical conductors.
In the field of Trade in Services, services in the exercise of governmental powers, for example, education, are excluded from the treaty.
Once this text is signed and enters into force, Costa Rica will have 15 free trade agreements in force. The others are with Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean Community, the Dominican Republic, Central America, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Chile, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Singapore and China.