The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced today its release of the draft environmental review of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for public comment. The draft review is part of USTR's continuing implementation of Executive Order 13141 (Environmental Review of Trade Agreements) and its corresponding guidelines. The Executive Order, signed in 1999, was reaffirmed by President Bush in April 2001.
The draft review analyzes the environmental impact of the proposed FTA, including possible changes in trade flows and impacts on U.S. environmental regulations. Public comments on the draft review are intended to assist U.S. negotiators as they enter the final stages of the U.S.-Chile FTA negotiations. The public is encouraged to send comments by November 20, 2001, to allow negotiators to consider them during the final negotiating round to be held in late November. Once the U.S.-Chile FTA negotiations are complete, the environmental review will be finalized and made available to Congress and the public before submission of the Free Trade Agreement to Congress for approval.
The draft environmental review is available here.
