Costa Rica Joins Digital Trade Agreement Focused on Data, AI and Emerging Technologies

By Ideas

Costa Rica has formally completed its accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), becoming the agreement’s fifth member and its second economy to join after its original signature. The country presented its Instrument of Accession during a meeting of the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership in Auckland, New Zealand, on September 17. The agreement’s existing members — Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea — formally welcomed Costa Rica’s accession in a joint statement.

The DEPA was created by Chile, New Zealand and Singapore in 2020 as a framework specifically focused on the rules and cooperation needed for digital trade. South Korea became its first new member in 2024, while Costa Rica formally requested accession in December 2022. An accession working group was established in October 2023, and the parties concluded substantive discussions in January 2025 before completing the remaining legal procedures.

Unlike conventional trade agreements, the DEPA focuses extensively on issues arising from the digitalization of international commerce. Its provisions cover areas including paperless trade, electronic invoicing, digital identities, consumer protection, personal data protection and cross-border data flows. The agreement also addresses emerging technologies and provides mechanisms for cooperation in areas such as fintech, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Cross-border data flows are one of the agreement’s central elements. The DEPA seeks to facilitate the movement of data across borders while establishing rules intended to support trust in digital commerce. It also addresses electronic transactions and prohibits customs duties on electronic transmissions, creating a framework intended to reduce regulatory barriers for companies providing digital products and services internationally.

For Costa Rica, the agreement is particularly relevant to its services economy. According to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Trade, services accounted for 45% of Costa Rica’s total exports in 2023, while modern services such as information and communications technology services and higher-value business services represented 57% of services exports. The ministry also reports that 43.4% of Costa Rica’s services exports in 2022 were supplied through information and communications technology platforms.

The accession therefore extends beyond facilitating traditional e-commerce. For technology companies and service providers, common rules on data, digital transactions and regulatory transparency can affect how businesses operate across borders. The DEPA also provides a framework for members to cooperate on emerging technological issues as digital business models evolve, rather than limiting the agreement to rules applicable to existing forms of trade.

Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are specifically included among the areas for dialogue and cooperation under the agreement. The framework does not establish a single comprehensive regulatory regime for AI across all member countries, but creates mechanisms for members to exchange information and cooperate on technological developments. This approach allows the agreement to address emerging issues while national regulatory systems continue to develop.

Data protection is another relevant component. The DEPA includes provisions concerning personal data protection and consumer protection as part of its broader objective of building trust in digital commerce. It also promotes transparency by encouraging members to make regulations publicly available and provide opportunities for interested parties to comment on proposed new rules.

The agreement also contains provisions intended to make digital trade more inclusive. Its framework highlights the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, women, rural populations, Indigenous peoples and other groups in the digital economy. For Costa Rica, the government has identified the DEPA as an opportunity to strengthen the country’s digital business environment, improve legal certainty in areas connected with the digital economy and support the attraction of foreign direct investment.

Costa Rica’s accession also gives the DEPA a stronger Latin American dimension. Chile was one of the agreement’s three founding members, and Costa Rica becomes the second Latin American economy to participate. Chilean authorities have described Costa Rica’s incorporation as an opportunity to deepen digital integration in the region and create additional opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs.

For companies operating internationally, the development illustrates the growing importance of digital trade agreements as a complement to traditional free-trade arrangements. Issues such as data transfers, electronic transactions, cybersecurity, AI and personal-data protection increasingly form part of the conditions under which technology and service companies enter foreign markets. Costa Rica’s accession places those issues within a broader framework of international cooperation linking the country with economies in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.