(NOTE: This press release
was originally released in Miami, Florida, on March 30th, following the third negotiating round.)
United States and Chile Free Trade Agreement: Third Negotiating Round
United States and Chile trade negotiators met March 26-30 in
Miami, Florida, for the third round of negotiations on the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement.
More than one hundred negotiators were involved in the
negotiations, which were conducted at the University of Miami’s School of Business. All negotiating
groups met during this session, and many have begun to develop working texts for negotiation.
Both the United States and Chile seek to create a comprehensive
and inclusive agreement that reflects their shared commitment to free trade and economic
integration. When completed, the U.S.-Chile FTA will set a high standard for such agreements in the
Western Hemisphere and throughout the world. The U.S.-Chile negotiation exemplifies the
U.S. commitment to developing closer economic ties with its neighbors in the Western
Hemisphere.
The negotiations were launched in December 2000 in Washington,
D.C. The second round of negotiations took place January 8-11 in Santiago, Chile. The Miami
round will be the last round before the Summit of the Americas meeting taking place on April
20-22 in Quebec, Canada. Both countries look forward to a fourth round in Santiago in May.
United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will travel to Santiago for his first
international trip as USTR. He will continue on to the Free trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Ministerial in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
USTR and other agencies have been consulting with a wide variety
of U.S. business and civil society groups in preparation for these negotiations. USTR
received more than 100 submissions to a Federal Register Notice request for comments on the
negotiations.
Bilateral trade between the United States and Chile has more than
doubled in the past decade to nearly $6 billion annually.
