Costa rica Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in costa rica, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Entry Strategy
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Companies should consider their own resources, previous business experience abroad, and long-term business strategy before entering the Costa Rican market.  American products and services enjoy an excellent reputation and Costa Rica is an attractive market for many U.S. companies.  One of the most common market entry options is finding a local agent or distributor.  Other approaches include licensing, franchising, and identifying local partners with market knowledge and contacts.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) offers customized solutions to help U.S. companies, including small- and medium-sized enterprises, succeed in Costa Rica.  Given the regional nature of the market, this will often include consideration of market opportunities in other Central America countries as well.  USFCS stands ready to help U.S. companies develop comprehensive market entry or expansion plans, learn about export- and customs-related requirements, obtain export financing, and identify potential partners, agents, and distributors through business matchmaking programs, trade shows, and trade missions led by senior U.S. government officials.  For U.S. companies that purchase our Gold Key Service, USFCS can facilitate one-on-one meetings with pre-screened buyers, potential customers or end-users, experienced professional services providers, and key government officials.  Furthermore, by engaging USFCS, U.S. companies can learn how to leverage high-level bilateral policy discussions.  With these tools, explained in greater detail in this Country Commercial Guide, U.S. companies will be better positioned to take advantage of opportunities in Costa Rica and throughout Central America.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) provides equivalent-level trade services at no cost for U.S. companies interested in exporting agricultural, fishery, and forestry products through their office in Embassy San José.  FAS works with USDA agencies and other U.S. food safety regulators (including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to identify and resolve sanitary, phytosanitary, and technical barriers to trade, such as procedures at ports of entry or acquiring, translating, and coordinating the U.S. response to draft regulations that could affect U.S. exports.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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