Importing From China to Costa Rica: Customs, FTA, Costs 2026

Costa Rica imported 23.7 billion dollars of goods in 2024, of which 20.6 billion outside agriculture, according to the WTO's 2026 tariff profiles. China is its second-largest non-agricultural supplier after the United States, with 4.297 billion dollars in imports that same year. The country has applied a free trade agreement with China since 2011: nearly all of that value already enters duty-free, a direct effect of the treaty rather than an exception regime.

Costa Rica and China signed a free trade agreement in 2010, which entered into force on August 1, 2011, according to the China FTA Network, which explains the near-general duty-free treatment seen today in WTO statistics. The customs framework otherwise remains the Central American Uniform Customs Code (CAUCA), enforced by the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Every declaration goes through the electronic TICA system, where a licensed customs broker files the declaration on the importer's behalf; a traffic-light system then routes each shipment to a documentary check, a physical inspection, or direct release.

Outside preference, Costa Rica's DAI import duty runs from 1% to 15% ad valorem on the CIF value, with raw materials and bulk cereals staying at 1% since 1996, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The 13% IVA applies on top of nearly all imported goods, calculated on the CIF value plus the DAI; selective taxes hit certain products, 10% on alcohol, 30 to 50% on vehicles, 30 to 40% on major appliances.

Example on a CIF value of 10,000 dollars with an illustrative DAI of 10%: DAI of 1,000 dollars, IVA base of 11,000 dollars, IVA at 13% for 1,430 dollars, total of 2,430 dollars. With a valid certificate of origin under the treaty, the DAI often drops to 0%: only the IVA on the CIF value would apply, i.e. 1,300 dollars. Check the exact rate for a given line before signing the proforma invoice.

Costa Rica essentially requires a commercial invoice and a bill of lading or air waybill depending on the mode chosen, with the declaration filed electronically in TICA by a licensed customs broker, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce; a packing list remains standard practice.

Extra paperwork applies depending on the product: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical devices and chemicals require a Ministerio de Salud permit valid for five years; agricultural goods need a sanitary or phytosanitary certificate and a Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería permit; food products are registered on first import. A Chinese certificate of origin unlocks the preferential tariff instead of the general regime.

The Instituto de Normas Técnicas de Costa Rica, INTECO, certifies products, processes and services and manages Costa Rican standardization, with international recognition via IQNet, according to its own site. Our sources found no confirmation of a generalized pre-shipment inspection program for the country, including costs and timelines: verification happens product by product with INTECO or the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio before production, not at loading.

Costa Rica restricts, for health, security or environmental reasons, 37 tariff lines, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce: used tires without rims, recently worn clothing and footwear, automatic weapons, blood products, ozone-depleting substances since 1991, asbestos. Crude oil and its derivatives remain a monopoly of the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, RECOPE.

Two coastlines share Costa Rica's trade: Moín, the container terminal of the Limón port complex on the Caribbean, operated by APM Terminals since February 2019, having handled about 1.2 million TEU in its first year, oriented mainly toward the United States and Europe according to the operator; and Caldera, on the Pacific, the only major freight port on that coastline, and therefore the most direct gateway to Asia given its geography. Our sources do not confirm specific volumes or timelines for Caldera; check with the Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico or your freight forwarder.

Air freight moves through Juan Santamaría airport, near San José, for urgent shipments. Free on board suits buyers who arrange transport themselves from Guangdong; cost, insurance and freight hands that organization to an intermediary as far as Moín or Caldera. Delivered duty paid remains inadvisable as long as the Chinese supplier does not itself act as the customs declarant in Costa Rica, which in practice it never does.

Costa Rica uses the colón, whose reference exchange rate against the dollar is published daily by the Banco Central de Costa Rica; duties and IVA are settled in that currency, at the rate on the day of the declaration. On payment to the Chinese supplier, the norm remains a deposit on order followed by a balance before shipment, to the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account; any change of bank details received by email should be verified with a direct phone call before any transfer.

A first order follows a set sequence: written specifications, factory verification, a validated sample kept as a reference, a proforma invoice with the chosen incoterm, production tracked against dated milestones, pre-shipment inspection, freight to Moín or Caldera, then customs clearance by the client or their licensed customs broker via TICA.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary whose corporate purpose covers buying, reselling and exporting goods, and by a parent company in France. Our Chinese-speaking team finds and vets factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates terms, has quality checked before loading, and organizes freight to Moín or Caldera, relying on the Chinese certificate of origin that unlocks the treaty's preferential tariff with China.

Our base offer is billed in dollars, supplemented by options specific to other regions depending on the target market, quoted on request. Sorva never acts as the official importer of record in Costa Rica, does not clear customs locally, and does not export vehicles itself without going through a licensed Chinese exporter.