Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter

The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) is a Costa Rican investment promotion agency responsible for export promotion programs, attracting foreign direct investment, and providing technical and financial support for the administration of Costa Rica's special export regimes.

Established in 1996, was created to modernize export and investment promotion activities, replacing the Center for Export and Investment Promotion (CENPRO), which had been in operation since 1968. PROCOMER's mandate, as defined in its organic law, includes coordinating export and investment programs with guidance from the Executive and managing the country's free trade zone regime.

The institution's funding comes from various sources, including contributions from export and import sectors, as well as credits, donations, or legacies. While it enjoys budgetary flexibility due to its exclusion from annual spending limits, it remains subject to oversight by the Comptroller General of the Republic, except for budget approval.

The International Trade Centre (ITC), an agency affiliated with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN), has recognized the agency as the world's best investment promotion agency for four consecutive years, most recently in April 2018.

Background
In the 1960s, only Ireland, Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan had investment promotion agencies. This number quadrupled in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This growth led to the opening of international offices for these agencies. According to data from the World Bank, 20 new offices of this kind were established from 2014 to 2019. Additionally, according to this organization, the investment promotion agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean have an average budget of US$5 million, whereas their OECD counterparts have budgets of US$14 million. They also differ in their staffing size, with an average of 48 people in LAC and 135 in OECD countries.

Creation
Before the 2000s, the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica operated without a formal legal framework, which posed a challenge in trade negotiations, as most countries already had a dedicated ministry, secretariat, or specialized department in place. There were three institutions tasked with managing different export incentive programs and promoting investments: the National Investment Council, the Center for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (CENPRO), and the Export Free Zone Corporation.

On December 29, 1995, during José María Figueres Olsen's government, 15 members of the National Liberation Party's parliamentary group presented a bill with the aim of creating the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) and the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER). They noted that in the previous years, foreign trade had been the main driver of Costa Rica's economy, but the legislation governing the institutional framework was outdated.

The initial bill formally established the Ministry of Foreign Trade and merged the Permanent Delegation of Costa Rica to the World Trade Organization with the trade representatives stationed in diplomatic delegations. Additionally, it gave rise to PROCOMER as the executing arm of the policies set forth by the ministry, bestowing upon it the status of a non-state public entity operating as a public limited company.

The proposal was referred to the Special State Reforms Commission, and it received unanimous approval on April 23, 1996. During the first reading, the bill garnered 38 votes in favor and 2 against, with the opposing votes coming from left-wing party deputies Gerardo Trejos Salas (Democratic Force) and Rodrigo Gutiérrez Schwanhauser (New Democratic Party). The second reading saw 36 votes in favor and 9 against.

The bill was sent to the Presidential House, where it received the signatures of both President José María Figueres Olsen and the Minister of Foreign Trade, José Rossi Umaña, becoming Law 7638 on October 30, 1996.

Costa Rican economy
During the 1990s, Costa Rica transitioned from an economy based on agriculture and manufacturing to one focused on attracting foreign direct investment through the expansion of special economic zones, the signing of international trade treaties, and globalization.

By the end of 2022, Costa Rican exports had reached $15.723.2 billion, representing a 9.5% increase compared to 2021, while imports totaled $21.397 billion, marking a 16.4% increase. The special economic zone regime accounted for 61.81% of export value and 21.15% of imports, while the definitive regime accounted for 38.19% of exports and 78.85% of imports. The top Costa Rican export products in 2022 included medical instruments and devices at $1.939 billion (10.83%), fresh tropical pineapples at $1.735 billion (9.69%), syringes, needles, catheters, cannulas, and the like at $1.407 billion (7.86%), fresh bananas at $1.393 billion (7.78%), and other prosthetic articles and devices at $1.049 billion (5.87%).

According to PROCOMER data, Costa Rica boasts 2,243 exporting companies dealing in 4,009 products destined for 153 international markets. From 2019 to 2022, foreign direct investment inflows reached $10.046 billion, with 210 new companies attracted and reinvestments totaling $524 million.

Current organization
PROCOMER is composed of a board of directors, Internal audit, the General Management, and its executive support; a sub-management responsible for the Country Competitiveness Directorate, and five departments: Export Development, Trade and Investment Facilitation, Innovation and Digital transformation, Operations, and Investment.


 * Export Development Department
 * Supply chain Directorate
 * Exports Directorate
 * New Exporters and Access to Financing Directorate
 * International Offices Directorate


 * Trade and Investment Facilitation Department
 * One-stop shop Directorate
 * Single Investment Shop Directorate
 * Special Regimes Directorate


 * Innovation and Digital Transformation Department
 * Planning and Commercial intelligence Directorate
 * Information technology Directorate
 * Innovation and Projects Directorate


 * Operations Department
 * Finance Administration Directorate
 * Human resources Directorate
 * Legal Advisory Directorate
 * Communication, Marketing, and Nation branding Directorate


 * Investment Department
 * Agriculture Directorate
 * Special Projects Directorate
 * Establishment and Aftercare Directorate

The board of directors is composed of the Minister of Foreign Trade, three representatives from the Executive, and the presidents of five business chambers: the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Exporters, the Chamber of Industries, the Chamber of Agriculture, and the Chamber of Small and Medium Exporters.

National and International Offices
PROCOMER has 14 offices in Costa Rica: its central offices located in the capital, San José, and seven regional offices in the cantons of Perez Zeledón, San Carlos, Liberia, Limón, Puntarenas, Grecia, and one in Pococí, which also serves the canton of Sarapiquí. It also has six One-stop shop in San Jose, Limon, Paso Canoas, Peñas Blancas, and Juan Santamaría International Airport.

It has 26 international offices on four continents. In Asia, they are located in China, Japan, and South Korea; in Europe, they are found in Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, and the Nordic region; in the Middle East, they are in Israel, and in North America, they are located in Canada, Mexico, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and Houston in the United States. In Central America, there are offices in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua. In the Caribbean, they have a presence in the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, while in South America, they are located in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador.

In addition to the international offices, PROCOMER has executive or managerial representation in 126 countries worldwide, including Colombia, Australia, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ukraine, Poland, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, and South Sudan.

Functions
Article 8 of its organic law stipulates that PROCOMER has the objectives and functions of designing and coordinating programs related to exports and investments in accordance with the guidelines set by the Executive. Its responsibilities include providing technical and financial support to the Ministry of Foreign Trade to manage special export regimes, promoting the country's commercial interests abroad and defending them. PROCOMER also manages a one-stop foreign trade system to centralize and streamline import and export procedures. It tracks foreign trade statistics in coordination with relevant institutions, manages assets in trust, and enters into all contracts permitted by law to fulfill its objectives and functions. Furthermore, it supports small and medium-sized exporting businesses and those with export potential through programs aimed at providing information, training, and commercial promotion to facilitate their access to international markets.

In practice, PROCOMER promotes Costa Rican exports through marketing campaigns and participation in trade shows. It works on simplifying and expediting import and export processes, reducing bureaucratic barriers, and promoting efficiency in foreign trade. The agency also conducts market research to help Costa Rican companies identify international business opportunities and provides training and guidance to help them develop export strategies. Additionally, PROCOMER is responsible for promoting foreign direct investment in Costa Rica, attracting companies and projects that contribute to the country's economic development.


 * Training
 * The Export Decision (LADE)
 * Creating Exporters
 * Specialized Training
 * Packaging Workshop


 * Programs
 * Green Growth
 * K-Global
 * Productive Chains
 * Discover
 * Supplier Development
 * Ramp Up
 * Human Talent Strategy
 * Greentech


 * Tools
 * CR Business Book
 * Market Studies
 * Export Guide
 * Annual Reports
 * Manual for Rural Women Entrepreneurs
 * Fee Payment
 * Statistical Portal
 * Refundable Rights Regime
 * Registration of National Companies Subcontracted by Companies Covered by the Free-Trade Regime
 * Sales Report
 * Free Trade Zone Regime Application System
 * Special Regime Transaction System
 * Integrated Logistics System
 * Exporter's Test
 * Foreign Trade One-stop (VUCE)
 * Investment One-stop (VUI)

2023-2026 FDI attraction plan
On June 15, 2023, COMEX and PROCOMER presented the plan for attracting foreign direct investment to Costa Rica with goals to generate 100 000 jobs and attract 70 investment projects in regions outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM); achieve an investment of US$12,950 million over four years, 300 reinvestment projects, 200 new projects, 24 projects under the public-private partnership alliance DESCUBRE, 8,000 jobs outside the GAM, 70 projects from new geographies, and 12,000 people employed through human talent programs.

The plan is based on three pillars: attracting new FDI in established, emerging, and new sectors; providing support and advice in procedures, supplier management, new incentives, reinvestments, and the removal of obstacles to investment; and special programs outside the GAM, human talent and clusters.