Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
Negotiations to Modernize the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
On August 11, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, announced the two countries will begin negotiations to modernize the existing Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (see News Release: PM announces measures to strengthen Canada's engagement with Costa Rica).
In June 2012, Canada and Costa Rica completed the fourth round of negotiations (see News release). Significant progress was made and a number of chapters were closed. Parties will continue to advance the work toward the fifth round which is scheduled to take place the week of August 27, in Ottawa.
The Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA) is a first-generation agreement that focuses mainly on trade in goods and does not include substantive provisions in areas such as cross-border trade in services, financial services, investment and government procurement.
On August 27, 2010, the Honourable Peter Van Loan, then Minister of International Trade, announced that Canada and Costa Rica had agreed to work toward modernizing the existing bilateral free trade agreement. Subsequent government-to-government exploratory discussions and public consultations with domestic stakeholders revealed broad-based support for the launch of negotiations to modernize the CCRFTA.
The Government of Canada welcomes the comments and input of Canadians in regards to the Modernization of the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement. For more information on the consultation process, or to submit your comments, please see the Contact Point section below.
Bilateral Agreements
- Text of the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
- Text of the Canada-Costa Rica Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
- Schedule of Canada
- Programa de Desgravación de Costa Rica(Schedule of Costa Rica, Spanish only)
Background and Additional Information on the Agreement
- Background on Negotiations
The Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA) and two parallel accords on environmental and labour cooperation entered into force on November 1, 2002.
After nine months of negotiations, the CCRFTA was signed by Canada's International Trade Minister and his Costa Rican counterpart on April 23, 2001. The two parallel agreements were also signed on the same occasion. The Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act was tabled in the House of Commons on September 20, 2001. Legislation to implement the CCRFTA received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001. For more information on the negotiations of the CCRFTA
- Highlights of the Agreement
- Backgrounder - Summary of the Agreement including Parallel Accords
- Implementation Legislation - Text of Bill C-32
- Notice of Intent to Conduct an Environmental Assessment of the Modernization of the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
Related Links
- Costa Rica Fact Sheet
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Latin America and the Caribbean Website (Costa Rica Section)
- The Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica
- The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (Costa Rican Market Information)
- Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) Website
Contact Point
If you have questions or comments about this free trade agreement or the environmental and labour cooperation agreements, we would like to hear from you. Please contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at the following address:
Trade Policy and Negotiations Division I (TPE)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2
Fax: 613-944-0757
Email: consultations@international.gc.ca
