The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and Costa Rica has officially come into effect, following the signing of the agreement in April 2010.
Under the deal, which entered into force on Monday 1 August, at least 90 per cent of goods from both countries will gradually enjoy zero tariff access to each other’s markets, according to a report by China Daily.
Fruits and vegetables are among the Chinese products which will benefit from tariff reductions in Costa Rica, while pineapple juice and frozen orange juice from the Central American country will have preferential access to the Chinese mainland, the report said.
The treaty is the 10th of its kind to be signed by China, the country’s Ministry of Trade said in a statement on its website following similar accords with ASEAN member countries, Chile, Pakistan, New Zealand, Singapore, Peru and other free trade deals with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
China and Costa Rica have also reportedly achieved consensus on rules of origin, customs procedures, technical barriers, sanitary regulations and trade remedies, China Daily reported.
Bilateral trade between the two nations rose by 19.2 per cent year-on-year to US$3.8bn in 2010, as Costa Rica has become one of China's major trading partners and investment destinations in Central America.
