The CEO of the multinational confirmed that the closure of the plant did not respond to reasons of global strategy but to the high operating costs in the country.
An article in Crhoy.com reports that in a presentation for employees of the company, the executive director of Intel, Brian Krzanich said that "the decision in Costa Rica was not part of plans to reduce the company's overall payroll but 'had more to do with the cost of this operation, the long-term operational cost of the plant. We spent several years working with the Government of Costa Rica, trying to reduce the overall cost of this operation.'"
An announcement has been made of a beta version of a digital platform for paperwork and export permits which is integrated with related institutions.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica :
This morning (yesterday) PROCOMER launched the beta version of Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) 2.0 a project that will revolutionize the export sector and domestic importer, offering an interoperable platform ( with approvals in minutes) between the 16 state institutions state that are involved in foreign trade procedures.
The Chamber of Industry perceives an "unusual secrecy" in progress toward an agreement that may seriously compromise the competitiveness of the sector.
The Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC) has asked the Government to explain the scope of commitments made with the signing of the adherence to the Pacific Alliance.
From a press release issued by the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica:
Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico approved the inclusion of Costa Rica to the Partnership Framework Agreement, the first step towards total integration into the block.
From a press release issued by the Presidency of Costa Rica:
Under the VIII Summit of Heads of State of the Pacific Alliance, the President of the Republic, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, along with her counterparts in Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Chile, Sebastián Piñera Echenique, Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto and Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso signed a Declaration on the Accession of Costa Rica to the Pacific Alliance.
The multinational has announced investments of $31 million to expand its plant in Cartago and open a new service center in Heredia.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade:
With an investment of $31 million, the company Kimberly-Clark (KC) will strengthen its manufacturing operations and services in Costa Rica. The company will invest $27 million in its new plant in Coris, Cartago, plus an additional $ 4 million for a new Shared Service Centre located in Heredia and which will support its business network throughout Latin America.
A dispute over the failure to implement tariff benefits on the part of El Salvador on tires and juices exported by Costa Rica has not been resolved using other methods.
The Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez confirmed that on January 20th El Salvador will be taken to court for not applying the tariff benefits negotiated in the FTA between the U.S., Central America and the Dominican Republic on tires and juices.
In 2013 43 foreign high technology companies invested in the country.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE):
Costa Rica ended 2013 with good news in the area of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in high technology and light manufacturing. The country became host to 43 new investment projects which generated, along with the companies who set themselves up there, $583 million and 7,123 new jobs in the sectors of services, life sciences and advanced and light manufacturing.
Exporters of dehydrated ethanol claim that the U.S. is applying an ad valorem tax of 2.5% which is outside of the provisions of DR-CAFTA.
According to Anabel González, the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Costa Rica has not exported the product during the second half of 2013, because the annual quota for receiving the benefits is 31 million gallons.
A new regulation imposes more requirements, more costs and creates more bureaucracy for SMEs who produce food for the local market.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry:
"The Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA by its initials in Spanish) is requesting the Government to suspend regulations of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) that are in process.
The Latin America-China Business Summit was held on November 26th and 27th in Costa Rica with more than 1,200 employers in regions with growing commercial exchanges.
Chinese and Latin American entrepreneurs gathered for two days for business meetings, contributing to increased trade in Latin America with the Asian country, which is already a commercial destination of prime importance for this region.
With an investment of $5 million Gualapack Costa Rica has opened a manufacturing and distribution center for flexible packaging for food industry mixtures.
A press release from Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE) reads:
Gualapack Costa Rica, member of Grupo Gualapack today officially opened the doors of its modern manufacturing plant and distribution center for flexible packaging for food industry mixtures.
Foreign direct investment in the country rose by 15%, while in the free zones where businesses are exempt from income tax, the growth rate was 53%.
During the first half of 2013 free zones received $360 million while in the same period of 2012 the figure was $235 million, which is an increase of 53%.
According to information from the Central Bank of Costa Rica, "in general, FDI in the first half rose by 15% compared to the same period in 2012 and amounted to $1.335 billion, strengthening its growth after the drop of 2009 " reported Nacion.com.
Services exports have grow by 7.7%; during the first six months of 2013 they totaled $2.9327 billion.
From a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex):
The successful attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) has consolidated the participation of Costa Rican exports services. During the first half of the year, Costa Rican exports of services accounted for $2.9327 billion, showing a growth of 7.7% compared to the same period in 2012, while FDI reached $1.3353 billion.
The Council of the European Union has approved Costa Rica's entry into the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex):
The European Union Council today unanimously approved Costa Rica's entry into the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (CAAA).