Weekly Report - 22 January 2009 (ISSN 1741-7422)

COSTA RICA | China FTA. Costa Rica began free trade negotiations with China in San José this week only 18 months after severing ties with Taipei and establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Oscar Arias agreed to begin talks when his Chinese peer Hu Jintao visited in November. The aim is to complete the negotiations in six rounds by May 2010 when Arias leaves office. The opposition Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) is likely to try and obstruct the FTA as it did the Cafta-DR treaty with the US, especially given the run-up to 2010 presidential elections, in which its leader, Ottón Solí­s, will be a serious contender.

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