Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste recently performed alongside the Orquesta Filarmónica de Costa Rica, showcasing Batiste’s ability to blend musical styles while incorporating artists and influences from Costa Rica. While Jon Batiste is a U.S. artist, it’s important to look beyond just his nationality: Batiste hails from New Orleans—a city that has long been a melting pot for cultures from across the Americas.
As global tensions rise and the trade environment shifts rapidly, it is critical to build relationships that not only engage specific countries but also groups within individual countries. This can allow companies and governments to deepen ties so swings in the national political pendulum don’t radically alter opportunities for international engagement. For Costa Rica, looking to Batiste’s hometown of New Orleans and the broader South Louisiana community provides an opportunity to build lasting links.
Why Build Connections with U.S. Cities and States
The United States remains Costa Rica’s largest trading partner, yet recent trends point to a deepening market concentration. According to COMEX and PROCOMER, the American market absorbed a staggering 47% of Costa Rica’s total exports in both 2024 and 2025. On the import side, data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica show the U.S. supplies roughly 36% of Costa Rican imports. Given the nation’s proximity to the United States and historical ties, these high bilateral trade rates should come as little surprise, particularly given Costa Rica’s participation in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the United States.
These deep trade ties between Costa Rica and the United States pose both opportunities and risks for the country. On the one hand, geographic proximity and deep ties to the world’s largest economy provide important advantages for Costa Rican companies. However, it can also create real risks—both due to spillover effects of a slowdown of the U.S. economy as well as to falling prey to the whims of U.S. trade policy.
To avoid the second of these challenges, the Costa Rican government must ensure that it maintains good relations with the United States. Costa Rica’s government has done a good job navigating the complex bilateral relationship and the rapid changes in U.S. policy toward Latin America.
But a relationship built on staying in the good graces of one administration is only as durable as that administration’s time in office. Political preferences and ideologies will change; Costa Rica’s economy should not have to swing between the pendulum of politics and the pit of economic collapse.
One way to avoid the risks caused by political change is to ensure support not only across the political spectrum, but also across various localities and constituencies in the United States. Building ties with U.S. cities and states and integrating the Costa Rican economy into their ecosystems can create U.S. champions that prevent economic or political retaliation from Washington.
Louisiana Ties
When Latin American corporate leaders think about where in the United States to engage, they often look to New York and Miami. However, success in the U.S. market requires looking beyond these two metropoles. Given New Orleans’ historical and contemporary ties with Costa Rica and its position at the mouth of the Mississippi, which makes it a useful position for entering the broader U.S. market, Costa Rica should take a cue from Jon Batiste and look to South Louisiana.
Costa Rica and Louisiana already share some important connections. Beginning in the 1870s, the coffee and banana trade became critical to New Orleans’ development as a port city, and imports from Costa Rica were an important driver of growth in those sectors. At the same time, New Orleans’ Tulane University was a central hub for students from Central America, including former president Luis Guillermo Solís. Louisiana has also been at the center of several recent efforts to promote “nearshoring” and deeper integration with the Americas. These include support from outgoing Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy for the Americas Trade and Investment Act as well as hosting the Spring 2022 Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE).
South Louisiana and Costa Rica’s economies continue to be intertwined, and there are key sectors where collaboration would benefit both countries, particularly in technology and medicine—the latter of which was a clear focus of the 2022 ACE in Louisiana. Costa Rica’s role as a key producer of advanced medical equipment positions it well to take advantage of New Orleans’ efforts to redevelop its medical infrastructure. Additionally, as the U.S. and Costa Rica deepen their linkages on semiconductors, Louisiana is seeking to expand its own footprint in high-tech industries, including the development of a space port, opening the door for synergies and further collaboration.
Costa Rica does not need convincing that this model works; it has already bet on it. In February 2026, PROCOMER opened a dedicated investment promotion office in Silicon Valley to court investors, citing California’s track record of 101 investment projects and roughly 19,200 jobs for Costa Rica between 2014 and 2024. Costa Rica’s government has shown it knows how to target a U.S. region strategically; it has simply not yet aimed that strategy at the Gulf South.
Strengthening Costa Rica through Targeted Approaches
Engaging with the U.S. at the subnational level can create opportunities for Costa Rica. It not only allows for deeper access to new markets, but also creates opportunities to avoid political headwinds in the future. These relationships can be built out through targeted trade missions, developing sister city partnerships, promoting educational exchanges, and integrating supply chains. However, doing so must be done strategically to maximize the impact for Costa Rica.
Just as Costa Ricans start their day with gallo pinto and New Orleanians build their week around a Monday pot of red beans and rice, the strongest ties between nations aren’t the ones announced with fanfare from a podium — they’re the ones woven into daily life. If Costa Rica wants a true relationship with the United States, it should invest in ties as durable and unglamorous as a shared bowl of rice and beans.
Autor
Founder and CEO of Pan-American Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm and thought leadership platform focused on the Western Hemisphere. Member of Diplomatic Courier's World in 2050 Brain Trust.
Sociologist from the National University of Cuyo and PhD in International Relations from Florida International University. Advisor at Pan-American Strategic Advisors. Postdoctoral researcher at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University.
