Costa Rica’s Accession to the CPTPP: Summary of Negotiated Outcomes

May 5, 2026

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)^{Footnote 1} is a free trade agreement (FTA) that is designed to expand over time to include new member economies through accessions. In August 2022, Costa Rica submitted its request for CPTPP accession. In November 2024, Canada and the other CPTPP Parties established an Accession Working Group (AWG) to negotiate Costa Rica’s accession to the Agreement.

After fifteen months of active negotiations, the AWG has substantially concluded its work in negotiating the market access that Costa Rica will provide upon their accession for goods, services, investment, financial services, government procurement, temporary entry for business persons, and state-owned enterprises. The AWG has also confirmed the terms for how Costa Rica will comply with the existing high-standard rules of the CPTPP, which are not subject to renegotiation during an accession process. The negotiated terms and conditions for Costa Rica to accede to the CPTPP will be set out in an accession protocol, which, following finalization, translation, and legal verification will be prepared for eventual signature.

Benefits of Costa Rica’s Accession to the CPTPP

Canada and Costa Rica enjoy a multifaceted relationship, rooted in our complementary trade and investment ties as well as our shared commitments to democracy, the rule of law, and multilateral cooperation. Costa Rica is Canada’s 3^rd largest merchandise trading partner in Central America, with bilateral trade averaging over $1 billion annually since 2023. It is also a growing services market for Canada, with bilateral services trade totalling $837 million in 2024.

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will add a small but likeminded partner to the Agreement, whose level of ambition and track record supporting rules-based trade sets a strong standard for future accessions. Once Costa Rica’s accession protocol is implemented, Canadian businesses and workers will benefit from a range of new and unprecedented access to the Costa Rican market, including opportunities in several areas not covered by the Canada-Costa Rica FTA, which has been in force since 2002. Costa Rica’s accession to the CPTPP effectively upgrades our bilateral trading relationship by building on the foundations of our existing bilateral FTA.

Some of the key negotiated outcomes of Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession for Canada can be found below:

Trade in goods

Canada benefits from 98% of tariff lines already being duty-free through the Canada-Costa Rica FTA. Through the CPTPP, Costa Rica will provide preferential access to Canada on 98 new agricultural product lines, all of which were either excluded or subject to permanent tariff rate quotas (TRQ) under the bilateral FTA. This will create new opportunities for Canadian producers of beef, pork, vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, and potatoes), and pulses.

Canada protected its sensitive agricultural interests relating to supply management and did not provide any further concessions in this sector. Once its accession protocol enters into force, Costa Rica will gain access to Canada’s existing market access commitments under the CPTPP, including our established TRQs for dairy, poultry, and eggs. Canada will not be establishing any additional TRQs for Costa Rica nor expanding the volume of our existing CPTPP TRQs.

Costa Rica’s accession creates new opportunities for Canadian producers and food processors to diversify the markets to which they export abroad. Once implemented, Canadian exporters will be able to elect to trade under either the Canada-Costa Rica FTA or the CPTPP, based on what best suits their needs.

Sanitary and phytosanitary measures

The CPTPP sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) chapter expands upon the SPS-related provisions set out in the existing Canada-Costa Rica FTA. Costa Rica’s acceptance of the comprehensive CPTPP chapter ensures that its SPS measures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade for Canadian exporters, preventing them from undermining the market access gains secured for Canadian agricultural products.

Technical barriers to trade

Costa Rica’s acceptance of the CPTPP technical barriers to trade (TBT) chapter will ensure that its technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade for Canadian exporters. In addition, the CPTPP’s specific disciplines covering cosmetics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, wine and spirits, information and communications technologies (ICT), proprietary formulas for certain food products and additives, and organic products will support more predictable market conditions for Canadian exporters in these sectors.

Investment

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will provide a broader and more modern framework for protections to Canadian investors and their investments in the Costa Rican market. Combined with the extension of additional commitments on investment in services, Canadian investors may find new opportunities to invest and establish a commercial presence in Costa Rica in key sectors like clean technologies, ICT, and natural resources. In addition, Canada will benefit from the CPTPP investment chapter’s more detailed pre- and post-establishment obligations as well as stronger safeguards that preserve the Government’s right to regulate.

The existing bilateral Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (FIPA), which has been in force since 1999, will be suspended once the CPTPP enters into force between Canada and Costa Rica. For a period of three years thereafter, Canadian investors may still bring a claim to arbitration against Costa Rica under the FIPA for breaches that took place prior to the suspension.

Cross-border trade in services

Costa Rica’s accession to the CPTPP will make it easier for Canadian service suppliers to find and take advantage of business opportunities in Costa Rica. As the Canada-Costa Rica FTA does not include commitments on trade in services, Costa Rica’s accession will provide Canadians with a range of new opportunities, including for:

• Key professional services, such as architecture, engineering, urban planning, and landscape architectural services.
• Improved transparency and predictability for accounting, auditing and bookkeeping, veterinary, and legal services.

Separately, Canada secured a side letter with Costa Rica (identical to what we have signed with all existing CPTPP Parties) that ensures Canada’s ability to adopt programs and policies that support the cultural sector, including in the digital environment.

Temporary entry

Canadians stand to benefit from Costa Rica’s commercially meaningful labour mobility commitments, which will facilitate business travel or relocation on a temporary basis to support the expansion of their business operations and investments in the Costa Rican market. This will include commitments for all major categories of businesspersons, durations of stay, spouses, and coverage for sectors like architectural, engineering, and other professional services.

Financial services

Costa Rica’s accession will provide a level playing field for Canadian financial institutions to operate in the Costa Rican market. Notably, Canadian institutions will benefit from:

• Improved access and enhanced regulatory transparency in the insurance and securities markets; and
• Ability to supply more financial services on a cross-border basis, such as portfolio management services.

Telecommunications

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will help to provide regulatory certainty for Canadian telecommunications service suppliers operating or investing in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has committed to rules-based telecommunications trade obligations regarding the access to and use of telecommunications services, co-location of telecommunications equipment, number portability, unbundling of network elements, and the fair and objective treatment of telecommunications services suppliers.

Electronic commerce

Costa Rica’s accession to the CPTPP ensures that Canadian companies, including SMEs, will benefit from improved regulatory predictability in Costa Rica, including by ensuring that discriminatory charges will not be applied to digital products, that cross-border data flows will be permitted to and from Costa Rica and that data will not be required to be stored locally unless to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, while also provide for the protection of consumers online by ensuring that consumer protection and privacy frameworks will apply to the digital economy.

Government procurement

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will provide Canadian suppliers with guaranteed access to the covered procurement market in Costa Rica for the first time. Costa Rica has committed to comprehensive coverage at all levels of government, including procurement entities not included in any of its previous FTAs, such as municipalities, certain public utilities, railways, hospitals, and national universities. The CPTPP government procurement chapter’s strong rules and obligations will also reduce barriers for Canadian suppliers by improving the transparency, efficiency, competitiveness, and predictability of the Costa Rican procurement market.

State-owned enterprises

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will level the playing field and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses in sectors where Costa Rican state-owned enterprises (SOE) operate, such as banking, insurance, ICT, energy, and transportation. The CPTPP SOE chapter’s high-standard rules will ensure that Costa Rican SOEs act in accordance with commercial considerations and do not discriminate against Canadian companies when they engage in commercial activities.

Intellectual property

Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession will ensure it meets the high regional standard for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) under the framework of the CPTPP chapter. As part of its accession, Costa Rica will implement reforms to its domestic regime with respect to trade secrets, publication of patent applications, and accession to the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks. This will ensure that Canadian seeking to do business in the Costa Rican market can benefit from a transparent and predictable framework for the protection of their IP.