Who recognises a Costa Rican OEA

Article 266 recognises as an OEA any operator certified and active in the AEO programme of a country with which Costa Rica holds a valid Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). Recognition runs both ways — a Costa Rican OEA is granted benefits at the partner's border, and vice versa. Costa Rica's MRAs fall into four groups.

Central America

Panama · Guatemala · El Salvador · Honduras. The regional customs-union neighbours.

Bilateral

Mexico (SAT–DGA) · Colombia · China (signed April 2023 — preferential clearance, access to 4,500+ certified Chinese operators).

Regional Agreement of the Americas

Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Guatemala · Paraguay · Peru · Dominican Republic · Uruguay. The largest OEA MRA signed to date.

Not the US, not the EU

No operational OEA MRA exists with either — Costa Rica's two largest trading partners. The EU–Central America Association Agreement (in force May 2024) is a trade agreement, not an AEO MRA. A Costa Rican OEA gets no automatic recognition in Brussels or Washington.

Roughly 15–16 countries in total — nearly all of Latin America, plus China. Verified against the DGA's published materials to 2026: unchanged since the China arrangement of 2023. Note that Costa Rica's trade agreements with Ecuador (2024) and the UAE (2025) are free-trade agreements, not OEA MRAs.

Recognition does not mean the requirements are the same. See An MRA doesn't make the requirements the same.

Photo: Milad Fakurian on Unsplash

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What OEA is — and how Costa Rica's version differs

In Costa Rica the AEO programme is called OEA, Operador Económico Autorizado. Both derive from the World Customs Organization's SAFE Framework. The rules here are Costa Rican and differ from the EU's AEO regime. A trade operator applies voluntarily, is certified by the Directorate-General of…

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