Free Trade Zone: Unión del Oeste reduces investment to 12.2 million

The Executive Branch reduced the investment commitments of the company Unión del Oeste de Costa Rica S.R.L. and set the minimum levels to be maintained under the Free Trade Zone Regime at 1,100 workers and US$12,246,716.98. The decision is contained in Executive Agreement No. ACU-RZF-0110-2026-COMEX, published in La Gaceta No. 202 on Monday, October 26, 2026 (reference IN202601134664).

The agreement, signed on August 26, 2026, at the Presidency of the Republic, modifies Executive Agreement No. 213-2022 of October 14, 2022, published in La Gaceta No. 10 on January 20, 2023, and its amendments, which granted the company—legal entity number 3-102-218597—the benefits and incentives of the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, Law No. 7210, as a service company under subsection c) of article 17.

The process originated from the request for a reduction in the investment level that the company submitted to the Special Regimes Directorate of the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) through documents dated February 10, 13, and 16, and March 19 and 20, 2026. The internal instance of the PROCOMER Administration, based on the Special Regimes Directorate report number 76-2026, recommended the modification of the agreement to the Executive Branch. The document bears the signature of Alexánder Astorga Monge on behalf of President Laura Fernández Delgado and the acting Minister of Foreign Trade, Arianna Arce Camacho.

The beneficiary’s new commitments

The sixth clause of the agreement is drafted with three concrete obligations:

• Maintain a minimum employment level of 1,100 workers starting September 3, 2025.
• Maintain an investment of at least US$12,246,716.98 (twelve million two hundred forty-six thousand seven hundred sixteen dollars and ninety-eight cents) starting from the notification of Executive Agreement No. 0017-2026.
• Comply with the National Added Value (VAN) percentage under the terms of the Regulations to the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, calculated at the end of the fiscal period in which the company begins productive operations.

PROCOMER will monitor compliance with these levels according to the criteria of the Regulations, and this authority must be provided for in the Operations Contract as an obligation of the beneficiary. The Executive Branch may revoke the regime if the company does not meet the committed minimum levels.

Accounting write-off of assets, the company’s argument

In its application, Unión del Oeste de Costa Rica S.R.L. explained that it conducted “a comprehensive review of the fixed asset portfolio” in light of changes in operating, technological, and economic conditions that affected its ability to generate future benefits. According to the company, the technical and financial analysis determined that certain assets had totally or partially lost their recoverable value, and therefore proceeded with their accounting write-off due to impairment, obsolescence, and disuse, duly documented and approved by management.

COMEX’s criterion on reductions

The agreement is based on the criterion established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade through Official Letter DM-911-1 of September 26, 2001, according to which PROCOMER cannot fail to consider “dynamic, changing factors inherent to the environment and business reality.” That criterion allows for the assessment of financial crises, marketing problems, or force majeure situations, and the weighing of “the impact that a considerable modification in investment and employment levels represents compared to the definitive closure of the company.”

In everything not expressly modified, the provisions of Executive Agreement No. 213-2022 remain in effect, and the new wording governs as of its notification.

The modification preserves the company’s permanence in the regime instead of exposing it to revocation for non-compliance, but transfers to PROCOMER the verification of the new employment and investment floors. For the workers and for the free trade zone where the company operates, the agreement converts 1,100 jobs and US$12.2 million into the minimum enforceable threshold.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 202 of October 26, 2026, Executive Power Agreements section, p. 6 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0110-2026-COMEX, IN202601134664).