COLOMBIA AND CHILE PURSUE TRADE AGREEMENT.
Chile and Colombia have committed to extend trade relations with an eye toward completing a free-trade agreement (FTA). The two nations signed an Economic Complementation Agreement (Acuerdo de Complementacion Economica, ACE-24) in 1993 and now seek to further remove trade barriers between them. An official visit on Aug. 7 by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to Bogota, where she met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, sealed the understanding that they would begin official negotiations.
Bachelet's visit came on the occasion of Uribe's inauguration into office after he won a second presidential term in May (see NotiSur, 2006-06-09). The two presidents made the effort to expand the "complementarity" of their economic links official with a joint announcement after meeting in the Casa de Narino, the seat of the executive branch in Colombia. They "concurred on the necessity to advance a negotiation process that would deepen bilateral trade relations, incorporating new disciplines with existing ones," according to the joint announcement.
The heads of state instructed their respective ministers to "initiate negotiations with a view toward reaching an FTA" that would broaden the items covered in the ACE-24. That 1993 agreement was signed with the objective of establishing a broadened economic relationship in conformity with the terms of the Tratado de Montevideo that ten South American countries and Mexico signed in 1980.
The new deal, said the presidents, would be possible with "the excellent state of bilateral relations, characterized by a climate of solidarity, cordiality and mutual respect."
Colombian Trade, Industry and Tourism Minister Jorge Humberto Botero and Chilean Foreign Relations Minister Alejandro Foxley formalized the commitment by signing a framework document establishing that negotiations would open on Oct. 9 in Santiago, Chile, in a first round that would last until Oct. 23. They foresee a second round in Bogota on Nov. 13-17 and a third and final round, "in a site yet to be determined," on Jan. 22-26, 2007.
Chile's chief of trade talks will be Foxley, and trade vice minister Eduardo Munoz Gomez will head Colombia's team, taking up one of the six tables of negotiation. The other five negotiating tables will center on rules of origin and customs procedures; trade barriers; rules, procedures, and measures of trade defense; public contracting; and services and investment.
The governments also agreed to end a controversy on sugar...
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