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Viviana Santamaria G.
"If companies had a better understanding of trade rules, they would incur lower costs."
Founding member of CATRADE Consulting Group In Costa Rica, she has more than (14) fourteen years of experience in various topics of international trade. She worked for five years as a trade negotiator for the Costa Rican government and in the private sector, she has advised a significant number of companies, governments and productive sectors in the preparation and identification of commercial challenges and opportunities in international markets, as well as in the implementation of the rights and obligations contracted in trade agreements.
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Her specialty is economic issues related to international trade, such as market access, antidumping measures, safeguards, subsidies, and countervailing duties, as well as market research, sectoral analysis, business climate analysis, and regional integration, among others. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Costa Rica, is a university professor and researcher, and serves on the Foreign Trade Commission of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP).
Edgar Tenorio S.
"Foreign trade operations are constantly evolving, requiring companies and institutions involved in this field to be better prepared to successfully meet challenges."
Partner-Consultant at CATRADE Consulting Group in Costa Rica. He has thirty (30) years of accumulated experience in different areas related to international trade and customs. In the public sector, he worked for more than eight years as an advisor and trade negotiator at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, responsible for the issue of technical barriers to trade and main negotiator in charge of said issue in important trade agreements of the country, including the Central American Customs Union process, in which he served for more than 8 years as Coordinator for Costa Rica of the Technical Group on Sanitary Registries. During this period, he represented Costa Rica before the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. In the private sector, for twenty-two years he has advised important national and international companies, institutions and governments in his areas of expertise.
Master's degree in Economic Law with an emphasis on International Trade. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law and a Bachelor's degree in Customs Administration from the University of Costa Rica. His specialties include the legal aspects of foreign trade, non-tariff measures (technical barriers to trade, regulatory aspects, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, sanitary registrations, among others), National Quality Systems, simplification of procedures and regulatory improvement, customs, and regional economic integration.
He is president of the Quality and Regulatory Improvement Commission of the Costa Rican Chamber of Industries and coordinator of the Regulatory Improvement Commission at the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP). He is a university professor of Customs Administration and Foreign Trade at the University of Costa Rica.
Juan Luis Zuniga
“Free and fair trade is not an end in itself, but a means to foster the growth of nations.”
Partner-Founder of the company CATRADE Consulting Group in Costa Rica With twenty-two (22) years of experience in various areas of international trade, customs and trade facilitation. He currently works as an international consultant and speaker in all these areas, providing his services to governments, private companies and international organizations in different countries.
He served as Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade and Director of the International Trade Agreements Administration Directorate (DAACI) of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica and as the lead negotiator for the Free Trade Agreements that Costa Rica has signed with the Dominican Republic, Chile, Panama, the CARICOM countries, Canada, and the United States of America (CAFTA-DR). Previously, he worked in the private sector as a Customs Agent and Deputy Head of the Technical Unit of the defunct Cormar Customs Group (currently DHL Costa Rica).
He is a Public Administrator, specializing in Customs Administration and International Trade. He holds a degree in Customs Administration and Foreign Trade from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and a Master's degree in Public Management with a specialization in Customs Administration from the International Institute of Public Administration (IIAP), Paris, France. He has also completed other specialized studies in international trade and trade negotiations in Colombia and Honduras. He is a former university professor of Customs Administration and Foreign Trade at the University of Costa Rica and Braulio Carrillo University.
He currently serves as technical coordinator of the International Affairs and Cooperation Working Group of the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce (CCCR) and is an active member of the Foreign Trade Commission of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP).