SANTIAGO – This week the Chilean Senate approved the protocol of deepening the Free Trade Agreement with China, a fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Ampuero, described as “very good news.”
In that sense, the Chilean foreign minister explained that this protocol complements the Free Trade Agreement between both countries that entered into force on October 1, 2006.
With this instrument, about 97.2% of Chilean merchandise has been able to enter the Chinese market free of tariffs, representing a total of 7,336 Chilean products, equivalent to 99% of the value of Chilean exports to China.
“The relationship with China is key. Not only is it a huge market, but it is also a key player in the Asia Pacific area, a commercial nerve center and with growing global influence, “Ampuero said. Likewise, the authority added that “contributing to the development of the country is one of the axes of action of our foreign policy, opening opportunities for our entrepreneurs, for growth”.
China is the first trading partner of Chile. Last year, trade reached 34,595 million dollars, 9.5% more than in 2016. And Chile is the first country in the world to negotiate a deepening of a bilateral trade agreement with China.
The new deepening protocol included the renegotiation of six chapters: access to markets, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, competition policy, economic and technical cooperation, as well as trade in services; added to two new titles on electronic commerce, and environment and commerce. Likewise, trade facilitation provisions were incorporated with a new institutional framework.
The approval of this protocol also takes place in the prelude to Foreign Minister Ampuero traveling to Beijing and Shanghai, next week. In the first city, he will participate in ChileWeek, where he will hold meetings with Chinese authorities and meetings with investors, as well as attend economic seminars, talks and tourism promotion activities. And in the second, Minister Ampuero will be at the China International Import Expo between November 5 and 10, where more than 150,000 attendees are expected in a 500,000 square meter enclosure, according to a statement from the Chilean Foreign Ministry.–MercoPress
