Costa Rica already provides a fairly welcoming legal regime for FDI.— By Constitutional
mandate, any firm operating legally in the country is endowed with certain common rights,
which are not subject to the nationality of the company or its owners. The country has also
signed a number of FTAs and over 40 bilateral investment treaties which grant investors
an extra layer of guarantee over both those rights, and the right to arbitration (typically at
the UN or the World Bank’s arbitration units) in case of violation. Added to the simplicity
of the paperwork and the role of the supporting institutions, greenfield, productive FDI
aimed at exports finds a very welcoming and trustworthy environment and access the
excellent human resources that make up Costa Rica