On 24 June 2024, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its annual Ministerial meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting was chaired by Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor of Switzerland.
On that occasion, the EFTA States and Chile convened to sign a Protocol of Amendment, modernising their Free Trade Agreement (FTA), further strengthening economic ties between the two sides.
Federal Councillor Parmelin made a statement on behalf of the Member States, thanking all Parties for making the conclusion of the negotiations possible.
“ I am pleased that we managed to conclude a modern and ambitious free trade agreement which will in particular establish better market access for goods and services, especially also financial services. The strengthened IPR chapter will provide our exporting communities with more legal certainty. I am confident that the EFTA–Chile modernised agreement will create new business opportunities through improved market access and greater predictability and legal certainty for operators from the EFTA States and Chile.”
The modernised EFTA–Chile FTA was signed on the EFTA side by Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland; Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein; Cecilie Myrseth, Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway; and Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor of Switzerland. Alberto van Klaveren, Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed on behalf of Chile.
Minister Van Klaveren highlighted the relevance of this signature for Chile.
“This modernisation offers Chile expanded access to the EFTA markets in goods, services, and public procurement. We especially value the inclusion of new areas, such as Trade and Sustainable Development, Digital Trade, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Trade and Gender. These additions will help us to adapt to the global economic realities and promote more inclusive trade. This modernised FTA aligns perfectly with the political values and principles that we share with EFTA members.”
The FTA between EFTA and Chile was first signed in Kristiansand, Norway, on 26 June 2003, and entered into force on 1 December 2004. Initiated in 2019, the modernisation process was completed in January 2024, after seven rounds of negotiations. As a result of this ambitious and broad-based modernisation, market access for goods and services was expanded. The modernised Agreement will lead to the elimination of duties on all industrial goods, including goods currently exported to Chile by EFTA companies, such as machines, precision instruments, chemical products and vaccines for veterinary use. In addition, the modernised agreement will provide duty-free access to 99% of existing agricultural imports into Chile from the EFTA States and cover 95% of Chilean imports into the EFTA States. Moreover, the FTA now includes updated chapters on trade in goods and trade in services, with a dedicated section on financial services, and strengthened and improved provisions on intellectual property rights and government procurement. The modernised FTA further incorporates new chapters on trade and sustainable development, digital trade and, for the first time, a chapter on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Trade between the EFTA States and Chile has grown steadily over the last 20 years and continues to do so. In 2023, total trade reached EUR 970 million, of which EUR 449 million represented imports from Chile and EUR 521 million were exports from the EFTA States. The main imports to the EFTA States were inorganic chemicals (EUR 217 million), while exports to Chile were mostly pharmaceutical products (EUR 231 million).
