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Costa Rica

Opinion of the Office of the Ombudsperson of Costa Rica on the Budapest Treaty
17-Sep-2008 Office of the Ombudsperson of Costa Rica
The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure is not in line with the norms and ethical principles of Costa Rica. Civil society, the scientific community and the different congregations should have had a more broad discussion on this Treaty including its ethical, environmental, social, economic and legal implications. Unfortunately, this did not happen and the decision to vote the US-DR-CAFTA, with its obligation for Costa Rica to accede to the Budapest Treaty, at referendum was not taken with a generalized prior informed consent.
Costa Rica court strikes down CAFTA bill for overlooking indigenous
12-Sep-2008 Tico Times
Costa Rica could miss its Oct. 1 deadline to pass law reforms needed to enter the Free Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) because of a legal snag in the final bill on intellectual property: Nobody thought to ask the country’s indigenous people.
Costa Rica top court blocks US trade pact approval
12-Sep-2008 AP
Costa Rica’s highest court on Thursday overturned an intellectual property law demanded by the US prior to the enactment of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Constitutional Court ruled that lawmakers improperly passed the bill — which included provisions on biodiversity — without consulting Indian groups.
Costa Rica: Social groups to protest tomorrow for the independence of the courts from the executive
2-Sep-2008 Inside Costa Rica
Dozens of organizations of the Movimiento Social (Social Movement) will be convening on Tuesday in front of the Poder Judicial de Costa Rica, in downtown San José, to demand the magistrates of the Corte Plena (Full Court) its independence from the powers of the State and reject its alliance with the Poder Ejecutivo (Executive branch of the government).
Clock ticks on free trade pact with US
25-Aug-2008 Tico Times
As Costa Rican lawmakers return today from a weeklong vacation, time grows tight to pass two laws required to implement the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). Lawmakers must pass a bill amending the agreement, as well as a bill that strengthens intellectual property rights, before an Oct. 1 deadline.
Costa Rica targets trends for greater food exports
22-Jul-2008 foodnavigator.com
Costa Rican food companies are focusing on major trends like organics and social values to build their export platform, as an association agreement between the EU and Central America is expected to be reached in 2009.
Truck drivers strike at Panama/Costa Rica border
14-Jul-2008 Inside Costa Rica
The first major disruption of the nine-month-old Costa Rican-Panamanian free trade agreement came on July 6, when approximately 200 truck drivers from Panama, Costa Rica, and other Central American countries paralyzed cargo crossing from Paso Canoas, Panama to Cerro Punta, Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: EU not interested in free-trade agreement
9-Jul-2008 Tico Times
Costa Rican officials announced they are not satisfied with the market opening proposal issued by the European Union (EU) prior to the beginning of the fourth round of negotiations for an eventual EU-Central America agreement. Costa Rican trade officials stated that they “do not perceive an interest on the part of the Europeans to advance the process.”
Amendments to CAFTA trade deal passed
8-Jul-2008 Guanacaste Journal
The long and arduous road toward final approval by Costa Rica of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States has suffered yet another delay.
Costa Rican Congress approves ending its 84-year-old insurance monopoly
2-Jul-2008
Costa Rica is saying goodbye to its 84-year-old insurance monopoly as it opens the industry to national and international competition.
Resistance to UPOV and the privatisation of life in Costa Rica
25-Apr-2008
Interview with Silvia Rodríguez Cervantes of Costa Rica’s Biodiversity Coordination Network about the national struggle against joining UPOV (Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties) as required by CAFTA.
U.S. or E.U.? Tico politicos split over best foreign investor
9-Apr-2008
Costa Rican lawmakers are divided over who makes a better investor in their country, the United States or the European Union, according to a recent questionnaire.
The ravaging effects of capitalism on my hometowns
4-Apr-2008 AlterNet
What will become of Costa Rica? That’s the question on my mind, now that my adopted country has narrowly accepted CAFTA. Our national slogan is "Pura vida!" meaning "pure life," and it’s commonly used as an affirmation that life is good. It’s easy to understand how such an expression could catch on here: Costa Rica has virtually no enemies, a temperate climate, and a hell of a lot of good beaches. However, as an expatriate whose previous hometowns have been despoiled by global capitalism, I find it difficult to imagine that life will be as pure or as good once the effects of CAFTA begin to kick in.
Costa Rica telecom market seen opening soon
4-Apr-2008
Costa Rica, one of the few Latin America countries still with a state-run telephone sector, is expected soon to open to big foreign players as part of a trade deal with the United States.
Costa Rica negotiates Free Trade Agreement with EU
19-Mar-2008 Costa Rica Pages
Representatives from Central America and the European Union met yesterday, March 17th, to negotiate new trade policy. One of the key elements being proposed by the Central American committee is the lowering of tariffs imposed on certain agricultural products to allow for more competitive trade.
Costa Rican Indigenous protest FTA
29-Feb-2008 Prensa Latina
Hundreds of Costa Rican indigenous people began a protest against the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States. They accused the FTA of imposing the use of patented seeds that prevent traditional crops and warned that the use of transgenic seeds from the United States would affect ancestral crops closely linked to the people’s view of the world and spirituality.
Costa Rica wins 7-month CAFTA deadline extension
28-Feb-2008
Costa Rica has won a seven-month extension from its U.S. and regional trade partners to pass laws required for its entry into the CAFTA free trade pact, President Oscar Arias said on Wednesday.
Costa Rica to ask for US trade delay
29-Jan-2008 AP
President Oscar Arias said Tuesday he will ask the US to delay implementation of a free-trade agreement to give the country time to pass several necessary local laws.
Costa Rica, China begin talks on free trade
10-Jan-2008 New Post India
A Chinese business delegation is in Costa Rica to explore the possibilities of a bilateral free trade agreement. The feasibility study would take at least six months.
Costa Ricans countdown on free trade with US
9-Jan-2008 Periodico 26
The Costa Rican Congress resumed discussion Monday on the complementary agenda required by March 1 for implementation of the Central American-US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Of the 13 bills needed, only 2 have been approved so far.