QCOSTARICA – The plan to define a “China Economic Zone” has been delayed, pushed back to the third quarter of next year. The initial date set to define the location was last month.
On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Alexander Mora, explained that Chinese experts will be in Costa Rica later tis month to conclude the feasibility study to determine the most appropriate location in 2016.year.
The eight cantones (counties) of the central Pacific are Garabito, Aguirre, Esparza, Orotina, Puntarenas, Montes de Oro, Parrita and San Mateo, all in the province of Puntarenas.
Mora said that the Chinese will analyze the reports prepared by Comex and Cinde (the business development agency) about the advantages of investment these eight cantones.
Both the study as the work to build the zones, that will be known as Zona Económica Especial (ZEE) or Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in English, will be financed by the Chinese government.
Typically a variety of laws and regulations are suspended in special economic zones, to give greater opportunities and facilities to companies, especially foreign business to set up operations in the country.
Source: Crhoy.com
As long as the Chinese don’t supply their own workers in these zones like they did for the building of the National Stadium in La Sabana. Hopefully, Costa Rica will derive some employment opportunity benefits for locals. These economic zones will largely be for the re-manufacture of Chinese goods destined for the U.S. market, which would otherwise be limited by quotas if the goods came directly from China; basically “back-dooring” the goods, with a made in Costa Rica label, under the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.