Singapore, Costa Rica Sign
Free Trade Deal
Singapore and Costa Rica signed the
Singapore-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (SCRFTA)
last week. According to a statement by
Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry,
the SCRFTA is a broad-based and
comprehensive agreement, covering issues
such as trade in goods, rules of origin,
customs procedures, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, technical barriers
to trade, and trade remedies.
Among others are government procurement,
competition policy, trade in services,
investment, electronic commerce,
intellectual property rights, bilateral
cooperation, transparency, institutional
provisions and dispute settlement.
Under the agreement, Costa Rica will be
eliminating customs duties for 90.6 percent
of its tariff lines upon entry into force of
the agreement with the tariff on the
remaining products to be eliminated over a
period of 10 years, with the possibility of
accelerated tariff elimination.
On Singapore's part, the city- state would
be granting immediate duty free access for
all imports from Costa Rica upon entry into
force of the agreement.
Costa Rica is Singapore's eighth largest
trading partner in Latin America, with trade
in 2009 valued at 413.7 million Singapore
dollars (about US$296 million).
While Singapore is Costa Rica's second
largest trading partner in Southeast Asia
and largest destination for Costa Rican
intelligent cards and medical prosthesis in
the region.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
