, an international based business development and investment firm in Tampa, is preparing to take a group of local firms and companies to Costa Rica in search of new high tech opportunities.
According to the 2007 World Development Indicators, Costa Rica is the fourth largest high tech exporter in the world with companies such as HP, Microsoft, Intel and other tech and software companies opening their manufacturing factories in the country.
After a year of passing the CAFTA trade agreement, the people of Costa Rica have elected their first female president, Laura Chinchilla. Chinchilla is in support of CAFTA and adamant in pursuing economic policies that will open up international commerce.
Industries that were previously run by government are being put into private sector bid, including an $800 million contract to renovate the Port of Limon on the Caribbean coast.
Steve Toner of Costal Strategies, Inc. is taking advantage of the opportunity by planning his second trade mission of U.S. tech firms to San Jose, Costa Rica on April 13. The mission will include a trade show that consists of seminars, conferences, and expo connections with one-on-one appointments. According to Toner, the object of the trade mission is for firms to explore new opportunities, make their presence known, and establish new connections.
"The mission is design for U.S. firms in Electronics, Medical Devices, Services, Green Technologies, Industrial Goods, R & D, Outsourcing, Energy, Telecom and Construction," Toner said.
Since Toner's last trade mission in July 2009, a highway was built from San Jose to the Pacific coast, cutting a three-hour drive through the mountains into a 45-minute commute. Although Free Trade agreements bring new developments to a country and increases global competition, there are people who oppose them.
Eric Rubin from the Florida Fair Trade Coalition believes CAFTA is not an opportunity at all, but a way for multi-million dollar companies to exploit a country. "Countries that were once self sufficient no longer are because of these trade agreements," Rubin said.
According to Rubin since CAFTA health care in Costa Rica has diminished and price of living is rising. "Local farmers stop farming to work in factories. Food that was once grown in the country now has to be imported, making prices go up," Rubin said.
Over the past several years Costa Rica has transitioned from being an agrarian economy to servicing the world in technology. The Global Competitive Report 2009-2010 listed Costa Rica as one of the most competitive economies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2010.
