COMEX accepts National Instruments' resignation from the free trade zone regime

The Executive Branch accepted the resignation of National Instruments Costa Rica Limitada from the Free Trade Zone Regime, a decision that enables the closure and subsequent dissolution of the company in the country. The measure is detailed in Executive Agreement No. ACU-RZF-0052-2026-COMEX, published in La Gaceta No. 205 on Thursday, October 29, 2026, in the Executive Branch Agreements section of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. The agreement was signed in San José on July 21, 2026, and takes effect upon notification.

What the agreement resolves

The text, signed by the President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado —with delegated signature to Alexander Astorga Monge, Director of the Presidency’s Office— and by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos Gallo, contains two articles:

• Article 1: to accept the resignation from the Free Trade Zone Regime submitted by National Instruments Costa Rica Limitada, legal entity number 3-102-621195.
• Article 2: the resolution takes effect upon notification.

The agreement is based on the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, Law No. 7210 of November 23, 1990, and its amendments; Law No. 7638 creating the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER); and Executive Decree No. 34739-COMEX-H of August 29, 2008, which contains the Regulations for the Free Trade Zone Regime Law.

The benefit granted in 2019

The first recital of the agreement recalls the origin of the benefit: through Executive Agreement No. 272-2019 of September 25, 2019, published in La Gaceta No. 207 of October 31, 2019, the Free Trade Zone Regime was granted to the company, classifying it as a services company in accordance with paragraph c) of article 17 of Law No. 7210 and its Regulations.

The resignation was requested by the company through documents submitted on May 5, 14, and 20, 2026, to PROCOMER. According to articles 53 ter and 53 quáter of the Regulations, the promoter must verify that the company intending to resign has complied with the requirements and other obligations provided for in Law No. 7210. The internal instance of the PROCOMER Administration reviewed the request and, based on the Special Regimes Directorate report No. 162-2026, recommended that the Executive Branch accept the resignation.

The reason: the acquisition by Emerson and the exit from the country

In its application, the company explained that the operation is due to a global corporate decision. The agreement reproduces its argument: “Following the international acquisition carried out between the companies Emerson Electric Co and National Instruments Corporation in October 2023, a restructuring of all its subsidiaries was generated,” which led to “simplifying the legal structure of legal entities, reducing their number, either through merger or liquidation.”

After a tax, financial, and legal analysis, the text indicates, “it was decided that NI should cease to exist as a company in Costa Rica.” The company noted that it waives the regime and is carrying out “the corresponding corporate closing process” before the Costa Rican authorities, “for its subsequent dissolution as a company in Costa Rica.”

The file further records that the company provided the guarantee deposit in due course, which remains in effect to date, and that the legal procedure was complied with.

Impact

The exit of National Instruments Costa Rica Limitada implies for the country the loss of a company under the Free Trade Zone Regime since 2019, a status that grants tax and customs benefits in exchange for investment and employment registered in the territory. The agreement confirms the closure of the firm’s local operation, now integrated into the structure of Emerson Electric Co, and shifts the effective closure of the company to the notification of the agreement and the corporate dissolution process.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 205 of October 29, 2026, Executive Branch Agreements — Ministry of Foreign Trade, pp. 3-4 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0052-2026-COMEX, publication IN202601135749).