Costa Rica Fires Minister Over Pacific Pact

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COSTA RICA · TRADE

Costa Rica’s president, Laura Fernández, fired her trade minister, Indiana Trejos, on Wednesday 28 October 2026. She also ordered the country not to sign the Trans-Pacific pact, a 12-nation trade deal that Costa Rica had negotiated since 2022.

For US readers the move ends a plan meant to make Costa Rica, a Central American manufacturing hub, less dependent on the US market. It also shows a conservative president reversing a policy of her predecessor, Rodrigo Chaves (see her inauguration and the Latin America Power Map).

What Happened

Fernández announced the decision in a recorded message on Wednesday, local time, after several days of analysis. She said she had told Trejos to share the full text with every affected sector, and that none had received it in full.

In her words, the negotiators declared the text secret, so that its full content was hidden from the people it would affect. She then said “the Transpacific is not going” and ordered the file archived immediately.

Fernández said she could not gamble with the future of thousands of families who raise cattle, make milk, and grow fruit and vegetables. She promised a support agenda for farmers who do not export, including more state purchases from local growers and a push against smuggling.

Trejos, who led the trade ministry (known as Comex), had told lawmakers in October that the talks were transparent. Asked about the president’s claims, she answered that the alleged lack of transparency was Fernández’s own assessment.

Costa Rica applied to join the Pacific pact on 10 August 2022, and the members opened its accession on 28 November 2024. They announced the substantial end of the talks on 5 May 2026, and the signing was planned for November.

Why It Matters

The Pacific pact would have opened a market of about 600 million consumers to Costa Rican exporters. The president herself says Costa Rica already sells nearly 5,000 products to 160 markets, worth more than US$26 billion a year and almost 300,000 jobs.

The government had backed the plan until recently, since Fernández’s election platform called for accession. Her stance shifted in late September, when she said the draft had not been endorsed by her.

It shifted again on 9 October, after a meeting of almost seven hours with farm leaders, and the final call came 19 days later. Her own trade ministry had told partners the president was expected to sign in November.

The decision also fits a pattern of fast cabinet changes, since she dismissed her foreign minister in late September. For the security side of her government, see our report on falling homicides and her judiciary plans.

What the President Promised Farmers

Fernández ordered Comex and the agriculture and economy ministries to deepen the dialogue with producers. She also promised to strengthen the state purchasing programme that buys food from local farmers for public institutions.

She did not give a budget or a timeline for the farm support plan. She also stressed that her government still backs free markets and open trade, and said Costa Rica should keep selling abroad.

What It Means for You

The United States is not a member of the Pacific pact, and nothing here changes Costa Rica’s existing trade rules with the US. The rules for American buyers and sellers stay as they were.

US companies that make goods in Costa Rica for export will not get the new Asian tariff cuts the pact promised. The shelving of the pact also removes a route that Costa Rican officials had presented as a hedge against swings in US trade policy.

Investors should watch who becomes the next trade minister and whether Costa Rica’s other trade talks continue. Fernández says she still backs free trade, so the open question is which deals she will pursue instead.

What Is Not Known

It is not yet known who will replace Trejos at the trade ministry. Nor is it clear how the other 11 members, which announced the end of the talks on 5 May, will respond.

The accession terms remain unpublished, so the exact tariff cuts cannot be checked. The Legislative Assembly never voted on the pact, because the protocol was never signed.

How the main business federations and opposition parties judge the dismissal itself is still open. The president has also not said whether Costa Rica could ever return to the talks.

More: Costa Rica news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Pacific Pact?

It is a trade pact of 12 economies, among them Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and the United Kingdom. It is also called the CPTPP, it cuts tariffs, and the United States is not a member.

Why Did Costa Rica’s President Fire the Trade Minister?

President Fernández said she had told Indiana Trejos to share the full text with every affected sector and that none received it in full. She also said the negotiators had declared the text secret.

Does This Change Anything for US Companies?

Not directly, because Costa Rica’s existing trade rules with the United States stay in place. The decision only cancels the new tariff cuts with Asia-Pacific economies that the pact would have brought.

Sources: Presidency of Costa Rica, recorded message of President Laura Fernández (28 October 2026), 28 October 2026; Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (Comex), CPTPP accession, 28 October 2026; CPTPP members and Costa Rica, joint ministerial statement on the substantial conclusion of accession talks (6 May 2026), 6 May 2026; Government of Canada, Costa Rica’s accession to the CPTPP: summary of negotiated outcomes, May 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief