Beer was left out of the trade agreement with Colombia. | FILE
The legislature, approved on first reading a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Costa Rica and Colombia. The agreement is necessary for Costa Rica to also join as a full member the Alliance of the Pacific with Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile. The text of the FTA now moves to the Constitutional Court where it must be approved before being sent back to the legislature for a second approval.
The trade agreement with Colombia was negotiated quickly and some industrial and agrictulture groups are worried about competitiveness. However, the agreement leaves out many types of products, and is by no means comprehensive.