Executive Branch expands Teradyne's free zone regime: 319 jobs and US$16.63 million

The Executive Branch expanded the authorized activity for Teradyne de Costa Rica S.R.L. under the Free Trade Zone Regime, setting a total level of 319 workers and an accumulated investment of at least US$16,630,930.30. The decision is contained in executive agreement ACU-RZF-0091-2026-COMEX, published in La Gaceta No. 204 on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, on pages 6 and 7, with the procedure identifier IN202601135279.

The agreement and its background

The instrument modifies Executive Agreement No. 134-2020 of October 5, 2020, published in La Gaceta No. 272 on November 13, 2020, which granted the company—legal entity number 3-102-271492—the benefits of Law No. 7210, the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, under the categories of service company and processing industry.

The request was submitted by the company on June 19 and 24, and July 2, 10, 13, and 28, 2026. In it, the company requested to expand its activity, increase employment and investment levels, and obtain authorization to carry out productive activities outside the area designated as a free trade zone.

The internal body of the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) reviewed the case and, based on the report from the PROCOMER Special Regimes Directorate No. 208-2026, recommended the modification to the Executive Branch. The agreement is signed by Alexander Astorga Monge by delegation of President Laura Fernández Delgado, and by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos Gallo, in San José on August 3, 2026.

New employment and investment goals

The reformed sixth clause establishes staggered obligations for the beneficiary:

• Minimum level of 317 workers starting April 21, 2023.
• Total level of 319 workers starting June 30, 2027.
• Investment of at least US$6,430,930.30 since November 5, 2020.
• Additional new investment in depreciable fixed assets of at least US$10,150,000.00, no later than April 8, 2022.
• Additional new investment of at least US$50,000.00, no later than August 30, 2027.
• Total investment level of at least US$16,630,930.30.
• Compliance with the National Added Value (VAN) percentage set by the Regulations to the Free Trade Zone Regime Law.

PROCOMER will monitor compliance with these levels, and this authority will be incorporated as an obligation in the Operations Contract. The Executive Branch may revoke the regime if the company does not meet the minimum investment requirements.

Classifications and operation outside the free zone area

The agreement reorganizes the company’s CAECR classifications and adds a new seventeenth clause, which authorizes it to provide services outside the free trade zone:

• CAECR 7110, architecture, engineering activities and related technical consultancy: analysis, design, diagnosis, repair, testing, and maintenance of electrical, optical, electronic, and aeronautical equipment, machinery, parts, and accessories; specialized laboratory services, technical support, digital and engineering services, and sterilization linked to strategic manufacturing sectors.
• CAECR 8211, combined office administrative service activities: treasury, purchasing, accounting, finance, and human resources, including payroll management and training, under the shared services modality.
• CAECR 2610, manufacture of electronic components and boards: functional electronic board for measuring machines, within the strategic sector of advanced electronics.

The authorization to operate outside the enabled area is limited to the service of “analysis, repair, calibration, and maintenance of equipment, machinery, parts, and accessories for the production of instruments and apparatuses of the strategic sectors of the manufacturing industry.” The file states that the company obtained a score of 103 on the Strategic Eligibility Index.

Validity and scope

The agreement takes effect upon its notification and replaces Executive Agreement No. 445-2016 of October 5, 2016, and its amendments, without altering the effects already produced. Everything not modified in Executive Agreement No. 134-2020 remains in force.

The adjustment consolidates the highest value-added advanced electronics operation in the country and commits the company to a verifiable employment floor and local linkages measured by NPV, factors that directly impact industrial suppliers and skilled employment in the sector.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 204, October 28, 2026, Executive Branch — Agreements, pp. 6-7 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0091-2026-COMEX).