Chile and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), made up of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, successfully concluded negotiations for the modernization of their agreement in force since 2004, the Undersecretariat of International Relations (Subrei) of the Chilean Foreign Ministry reported on Monday (22.01.2024/XNUMX/XNUMX).
In this regard, the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, highlighted the importance of this milestone to strengthen the network of economic-trade agreements. Regarding this particular treaty, he added that “In 2024, it will be 20 years since our trade agreement came into force and its modernization, together with the recent signing of the AMA with the European Union (EU), will allow a relaunch of Chile's commercial positioning throughout the European continent.".
The Parties will now have to begin the legal review of the modernised agreement, then proceed with its signature and subsequent submission to the various Parliaments for ratification.
According to the statement, Chile and EFTA signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2003, which came into force in December 2004.
After more than a decade of validity and following an exploratory meeting held in Geneva (Switzerland) at the beginning of 2016, both parties agreed to introduce improvements to the agreement.
Some figures
According to the figures provided, EFTA recorded a commercial exchange of goods with Chile of USD 1.281 million.
The main Chilean exports EFTA includes shipments of gold, silver, iodine, wine, palladium, nuts, tomato purees and fresh avocados.
Meanwhile, Switzerland It is the main recipient of total shipments from Chile with USD 677 million, followed by Norway (USD 85 million) and Iceland (USD 5,3 million).
The imported Chilean products According to the same source, the most important imports from EFTA were ships, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, medicines, wristwatches, mineral waters and pacemakers.
From Subrei, they detailed that exports of services have grown at an average annual rate of 20,9%, climbing from USD 5 million in 2004 to USD 153 million in 2024. In terms of shipments, research and development, market studies and financial management of companies lead the way.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
