Home Economics, Policy & Regulation Panama, Costa Rica Squeeze Central American Neighbors
Author: Nic Wirtz | Photos: Shutterstock
Deeper integration could attract more nearshoring, but governments will have to step up, too.
This article appears in the October issue of Global Finance Magazine.
With Panama joining Mercosur and Costa Rica wrapping up negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the rest of Spanish-speaking Central America risks being left behind.
Regional integration efforts have hitherto focused on custom unions, stock market interoperability, the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Central American Parliament, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (FAUCA).
“Panama’s accession to Mercosur as an associate state creates competitive pressure on the rest of Central America,” said Costa Rica-based financial analyst Daniel Suchar. “This could divert foreign direct investment that traditionally viewed Central America as a gateway to the Americas, forcing the other countries in the region to accelerate their own trade agreements to avoid falling behind.”
As a Mercosur member , Panama gains access to a market of 260 million people as well as value chains in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, notably in logistics, financial services, and agribusiness. This opens the door to negotiations for a Central American bloc to join Mercosur, using Panama as a bridge.
“From a business perspective, the more connected, competitive, and open to trade Central America is, the greater the possibilities for developing regional value chains and attracting investment,” said Rosmer Jurado, president of the Union of Panamanian Industrialists.
Since last year, talk of a renegotiation of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been circulating among governments in the region. Should talks begin—the Dominican Republic is pushing hard for a trade deal—they would likely include proposals for further integration and increased rules and regulations.
“A new agreement would be expected to include chapters on the digital economy, SMEs, resilient supply chains, and more stringent labor and environmental standards,” said Suchar. “A modernized CAFTA-DR should also address trade facilitation and regional cumulation of origin so that Central America can sell as a bloc and not as six separate countries.”
Central America remains a diverse region, however, both politically and economically, which makes further integration challenging. Nicaragua is in danger of being frozen out of US trade after effectively banning elections, and Costa Rica has historically prioritized market diversification over Central American integration. Forging closer ties with the U.K. is part of its strategy to insert itself into high-value global production chains, particularly in medical devices, services, and technology.
The future of the Northern Triangle states—Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador—is likely to be conditioned by their capacity to attract nearshoring and reduce non-trade costs. If they improve legal security, infrastructure, and energy, Suchar said, they can position themselves as alternatives for light manufacturing and textiles for companies leaving Asia.
Nearshoring has been hailed as the region’s magic bullet; a 2024 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies suggested that U.S. nearshoring alone could add at least $3.3 billion a year to Central American exports. But this…