Costa Rican businessmen complain that because of export subsidies granted to sugar producers in India, there has been an artificial increase in production, causing prices to fall below costs.
Édgar Herrera, executive director of the Industrial Agricultural League of Sugarcane (Laica), explained to Elobservador.cr that "... These subsidies are greater than those allowed by the World Trade Organization, in the order of $10 billion annually.
The WTO was part of the panel of experts that will resolve Mexico's lawsuit against Costa Rica, arising from the barriers imposed by the Costa Rican authorities to import the fruit.
The trade conflict emerged because of the barriers that Costa Rica imposes since 2014 to the entry of avocado from Mexico. Because the dispute remains unresolved, the authorities of the North American country requested last November 27 to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to submit the case to an arbitration panel.
In Costa Rica, the state power company will have to pay $112 million to the contractor of the Chucás hydroelectric project, for "additional expenses that it authorized and then refused to recognize."
In the ruling issued by the International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (CICA), to which the company Enel Green Power Costa Rica appealed to resolve a conflict that originated in 2015 due to an almost $148 millionincrease in the Chucás hydroelectric project, which has not yet been completed, it was established that Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) acted with "bad contractual faith".
Employers indicate that taking the dispute to an arbitration panel will cost many millions of dollars and will result in indemnization payments, as it is clear that trade agreements and phytosanitary standards were breached.
The announcement by the Mexican authorities to take Costa Rica to a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration panel because of the dispute over avocados, has caused concern among employers who are members of the Chamber of Exporters and Importers of Perishable Goods (Ceipp).
The irreconcilable positions of both countries over phytosanitary measures for the Mexican product form the backdrop to a possible arbitration panel with the world trade body.
Since Costa Rica stopped issuing permits for the entry of Hass avocados from Mexico, for phytosanitary protectionism reasons, (the country argues they are protecting themselves from the disease known as sunspot), neither country has managed to convince the other through technical and political methods to reopen the market.
Experts will be meeting in Panama City from 16th to 18th of March to discuss issues and progresses related to arbitration procedures in Latin America and the world.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama:
Panama, February 29, 2016. Panama will host the Conference of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC PANARB 2016) and the third version of the Biennial Conference of the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB 2016), which will run from 16 to 18 March, with the aim of highlighting the main progresses and developments in arbitration in Latin America and the world, in order to ensure greater awareness of costs in arbitration proceedings.
As of July 1 the arbitration panel ruling which came down on the side of Costa Rica will be put into practice, and from now on all Costa Rican exports to the Salvadoran market will enjoy the preferences stated in the DR-CAFTA.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica:
Costa Rican exports to El Salvador receive preferential treatment of CAFTA-DR as of July 1
Both countries have already submitted formal documents in which Costa Rica denounces the non-application of tariff preferences on juices and tires exported to El Salvador under the CAFTA agreement.
Now that the formal documents have been presented, representatives from the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador will await resolutions and new dates to proceed with the arbitration.
Arbitration experts from 23 countries will meet from 23 to 25 February in San Jose, Costa Rica.
From 23 to 25 February, arbitration experts from 23 countries will meet in Costa Rica which will host the V International Arbitration Congress, entitled: "International Arbitration: Challenges and Trends".
Those attending the event, which will be held at the Real Intercontinental Hotel, will hear about "trends that have developed in international practice."
Putting a trade dispute in the hands of conciliation tribunals and private arbitration is not quite as convenient as it may seem at first glance.
Jerry Ten Brink, in an article in Elfinancierocr.com analyzes the common practice among businesses of establishing the jurisdiction of a private tribunal in resolving disputes which may arise.
Ten Brink points out, among some of the problems that can be incurred in this practice, the high cost of these justice services, latent conflicts of interest among judges, the acting lawyers and the parties involved in the conflict, lack of transparency for procedures, and the lack of a "second instance".
Costa Rica will host the Congress which will focus on continental law and the so called Common Law in International Arbitration.
The event will be held on 18 and 19 February this year and will include the participation of prominent lawyers and experts in these legal figures, which are crucial for trade and public-private and multilateral business relations.
The concessionaire of the route San Jose – Caldera, , Autopistas del Sol, has filed a lawsuit against the state demanding an update of the cost of road construction.
The company is seeking to "rebalance the contract based solely on an update of the amount of the original bid", said Luis Diego Flores, constitutional attorney. The concessionaire maintains that the cost of the works exceeded the figures set out in the original bid for the project.