Published on Friday, March 22, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

On Friday, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, met with President  Rodrigo Chaves-Robles on plans to enhance the semiconductor industry in Costa Rica.

According to the U.S. Embassy, the Raimondo agenda goal is to boost the supply chain capacity in the Western Hemisphere.

"She welcomed President Chaves and the Government of Costa Rica’s efforts to elevate the country as a key market for semiconductor assembly, testing and packaging," said the U.S. Embassy in its statement.

Raimondo and Chaves also addressed the Americas Partnership Center of Excellence (COE)  and workforce development efforts for Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) countries in critical digital technology sectors ranging from cybersecurity to semiconductors to artificial intelligence.

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce also co-led a roundtable discussion with Vice Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Judith Pryor, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Kendler, Costa Rica’s Ministers of Technology and Foreign Trade and other representatives of the technology industry to discuss their collective commitments to support  APEP.

The initiative goal is to support workforce development initiatives in Costa Rica, and across all APEP countries, in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, 5G, and cloud computing industries.

"The companies in attendance of that meeting also committed more than $47 million to providing equipment, software, curriculum, and training programs that will benefit the future of Costa Rica’s workforce," the authorities added.

During the roundtable, the Secretary emphasized the impact that investments like the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) program and the U.S. Science Act have had on revitalizing semiconductor manufacturing in the United States and the opportunity for catalyzing private investment in Costa Rica and the Western Hemisphere.

Recently, the U.S. Department of State, through the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, awarded $13.8 million to Arizona State University (ASU) under the CHIPS Act International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund.

Gina M. Raimondo serves as the 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on March 3, 2021. 

Secretary Raimondo was formerly the 75th Governor of Rhode Island and its first woman governor in January 2015 and won a second term in 2018. She also served as chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association in 2019.

Secretary Raimondo is one of many prominent U.S. government executives who have lately visited Costa Rica. In January, Ramin Toloui, the United States Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, paid a visit to Costa Rica to launch the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Semiconductor Workforce Symposium.

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What U.S. semiconductor manufacturing company should establish operations in Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com