Chile and Mexico successfully conclude negotiations to modernize free trade agreement
FX Leaders | 26 June 2024
Chile and Mexico successfully conclude negotiations to modernize free trade agreement
by Ignacio Teson
Two new chapters on Trade and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises have been added to the agreement that came into effect 25 years ago.
The governments of Mexico and Chile successfully concluded negotiations to modernize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations, 25 years after it initially came into effect.
In a joint statement, the authorities of both countries announced “the successful conclusion of technical negotiations to modernize this bilateral treaty, incorporating two new chapters: Trade, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).”
Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, congratulated both delegations on the agreement and emphasized that the modernization of the treaty “brings us closer to a more inclusive policy that acknowledges and strengthens the role of women and MSMEs in the economy.”
Meanwhile, Claudia Sanhueza, Chile’s Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, noted that Chile and Mexico share principles and values where trade is considered an “essential tool” to drive the economic development of both nations, promoting the inclusion of all sectors of society.
They highlighted that the Gender and Trade chapter aims to promote the economic empowerment of women through their inclusion in foreign trade. The MSMEs chapter aims to connect these types of businesses to global and regional value chains and bilateral trade.
The agreement is expected to have significant impacts on trade between the two nations. Since the FTA between Chile and Mexico came into effect 25 years ago, bilateral trade reached US$3.435 billion in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 3.9%, according to Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
