The Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) is the cornerstone of Canada’s commercial relationship with Chile and was the first comprehensive free trade agreement signed by Chile. The modernization of the CCFTA will make it a 21st-century, next-generation trade agreement, ensuring that Canadian businesses can export their goods, creating jobs and economic prosperity across Canada.
In September 2013, an agreement to amend the CCFTA came into force with a chapter on financial services and updates to the customs procedures, government procurement and dispute settlement chapters.
In November 2014, the conclusion of negotiations toward a new chapter on technical barriers to trade was announced by the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Heraldo Muñoz, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting in Beijing, China.
On April 10, 2015, Canada and Chile announced the conclusion of negotiations toward a new chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and technical amendments to the existing government procurement chapter. In addition, both countries agreed to bring amendments to CCFTA rules of origin into force as soon as possible.
The new sanitary and phytosanitary measures chapter will strengthen bilateral cooperation and collaboration on SPS-related issues and formalize the existing CCFTA SPS Committee, established in 2001. It will also establish a new bilateral commitment to facilitate early and effective dialogue to resolve SPS-related issues affecting bilateral trade and help ensure that market access benefits under the CCFTA are not undermined by unjustified barriers to trade.
Updates to the government procurement chapter aim to enhance administrative efficiency by allowing Canadian and Chilean procuring entities greater flexibility in setting tendering periods in cases where electronic tendering is used.
Amendments to CCFTA rules of origin will liberalize certain rules of origin, resulting in enhanced market access for Canadian goods such as chemical products and plastics, base metals, machinery and appliances.
Since its launch in 1997, the CCFTA has brought benefits to both countries. Canada-Chile two-way merchandise trade reached $2.86 billion in 2014. Canadian merchandise exports to Chile increased to $1.14 billion that year, a 42-percent increase over that of the previous year.
