In Costa Rica a lawsuit filed against the ICE by Unión Fenosa Generadora La Joya, has been rejected. The case included a $7.9 million claim for alleged overcharges for the suspension of a hydroelectric project in Turrialba.
Nacion.com reports that "...The case dates back to 2002 and relates to a BOT - build, operate and transfer - contract signed between the ICE and the Spanish private generator to produce 50 Megawatts (MW) of energy with a water source in the canton of Turrialba."
The Brazilian government claims that the 6,8% increase in the tax on sugar imports from the south american country is in violation of a WTO anti-dumping agreement.
The decision by the new Minister of Economy to raise the tariff on sugar imports from Brazil by 6.82%, ignoring the technical criteria that indicated an absence of dumping, is already having consequences.See: "Sugar War in Costa Rica Restarts".
Aguilar Castillo Love is a leading international law firm with offices in Central America and Ecuador.
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Central America
Phone: (505) 2225 8748
Competing with multinationals under DR-CAFTA requires companies to comply with all the necessary processes to protect their brands, processes and products.
The arrival of multinational companies in Central America competing in legal equality with local or regional firms as a result of DR-CAFTA, highlights gaps in legal implementation and best practices for business on issues such as the protection of trademarks and intellectual property.
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 Canadian firm Infinito Gold has ceased operations and requested the temporary suspension of arbitration against Costa Rica over the failed concession of the Crucitas gold mine.
The cessation of business operations due to lack of financial resources, announced in mid-July, when all its directors and managers resigned, could be the main reason for the decision to request the temporary suspension of the proceedings against Costa Rica over the Crucitas gold mine, for which $94 million was demanded for violations of the agreement for the promotion and protection of investments between Costa Rica and Canada.
A court has ruled against the lawsuit brought by the US company Harken Energy against the Costa Rican government for canceling a contract to prospect for hydrocarbons in the Caribbean.
Harken Energy in 1998 won a 20-year contract with the government of Costa Rica for prospecting and exploiting oil in areas of the Caribbean. In 2002, the environmental impact study submitted by the oil company to build facilities in the vicinity of Moin, in the province of Limón, was rejected by the National Technical Environmental Secretariat (Setena).
Arbitrators working under the framework of DR-CAFTA have ruled that Costa Rican exports within this trade agreement in El Salvador should receive the tariff preferences provided for in the text.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (COMEX):
Defending the interests of the country as part of the effective administration of the treaty
Rulers should be aware that a very large percentage of their people do not satisfy their hunger eating sovereignty but by eating rice and beans.
It seems that the current interest of the elected president of Costa Rica is to maintain the highest possible tension with Nicaragua.
Editorial
Undoubtedly, any gesture of rapprochement with the government of President Ortega will entail political costs for Luis Guillermo Solís, the next president of Costa Rica. But it is clear that this - the beginning of his term - was the best time to make that gesture, promoting a release of tension over the border dispute in the Caribbean area.
Lego International has won a lawsuit against Lego PZ Multiservicios S.A. of Costa Rica for the misuse of the toymaker's brand name.
Lego International won the lawsuit filed against the corporation Multiservicios Lego PZ Costa Rica for the unauthorized use in its company name, of the trademarked name Lego. The Register of Legal Entities at the National Registry ordered the administrative detention of the corporation.
The Superior Council of Private Enterprise opposes the proposed "patriotic tax" of 35% on Costa Rican products and services.
The proposal by the Nicaraguan former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre, to charge a 35% tariff on products entering from Costa Rica has been rejected by the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep). The destination of the proposed tax revenue would have been used to cover expenses with the International Court of Justice where both countries maintain a border dispute.
The Costa Rican government will ask the International Court of Justice to determine the border between the two countries in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Both countries have not reached an agreement over the delimitation of their maritime boundaries, and the recent decision by Nicaragua to tender exploration and exploitation of oil in Caribbean waters has alarmed the government of Costa Rica which has denounced Nicaragua for offering such licenses in areas that Costa Ricans consider belongs to them.
In answering whether Costa Rica should compensate Industrias Infinito in the Crucitas mine case, the minister in charge of the issue said, "they shouldn't be paid or it should be minimal. "
EDITORIAL
In an article in Prensalibre.cr the Minister of Environment and Energy René Castro answered the question by saying "We believe that Costa Rica should not give any compensation to Industrias Infinito because there was never actually a concession."
The money that the State of Costa Rica will lose in the dispute over the failed concession of the Crucitas mine will come from taxpayer's pockets.
Editorial
During the 20 year period of the soap opera that is Crucitas gold mine, none of the individuals who are involved in one way or another have suffered any financial loss and many, on the contrary, have seen an increase in their income and their bank accounts.
Infinito Gold is suing for $94 million lost due to violations of the agreement for the promotion and protection of investments between Costa Rica and Canada.
Industrias Infinito confirmed that its parent company, Infinito Gold, has filed a law suit against Costa Rica at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) seeking compensation as a result of their investments in the canceled mining project of Crucitas.
español
6404
