Costa Rica 2013 Blog: Discussion – Impact of CAFTA-DR to Five Years after Its Entry into Force

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What were some of the struggles involved with passing CAFTA-DR, and what is the accord's trajectory? Speakers analyzed the impact the trade agreement has had in Costa Rica over the last five years.

Speakers:

  • Christopher Padilla, Vice President, Government Programs, IBM Corporation
  • Alberto Trejos, Ex-Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
  • Anabel González, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (Moderator)

Alberto Trejos, former Costa Rican foreign trade minister and current professor at INCAE, joined via videoconference to share his views, qualifying CAFTA-DR as an opportunity to keep improving the country and as Costa Rica's most important trade deal. While he said that it is difficult to evaluate CAFTA-DR's impact, there have been important signs of improvement, particularly in the telecommunications and insurance sectors. The cost of telephony in Costa Rica has decreased 30 percent and while fewer than 60 percent of homes had internet connections, that number has increased to 96 percent. Trejos said that CAFTA-DR by itself is good, but is even better as part of larger developments; agreements with the EU, China, and Pacific Alliance will help expand integration further. 

IBM's Christopher Padilla shared his perspective as a person with experience helping usher CAFTA-DR's approval through the U.S. legislature. He noted that the accord only made it through the U.S. Congress by a vote of 217 to 215 and in Costa Rica, it eked through in a public referendum with a vote of 51 percent. Yet, says, Padilla, the two countries in which it came the closest to not passing are the two that have benefited the most. He cautioned that while CAFTA-DR can help promote democracy, a trade agreement alone does not lead to the strengthening of democratic institutions. He concluded by saying it was no suprise that CAFTA-DR "has been most successful in the country with the strongest democracy, which is Costa Rica."

Watch the remarks (en español):