Regional and Bilateral Initiatives
Canada - Chile Free Trade Agreement
FIFTH MEETING OF THE CANADA-CHILE FREE TRADE COMMISSION:
JOINT STATEMENT OF MINISTERS
SANTIAGO, CHILE
November 16, 2004
Following the meeting of the Free Trade Commission on November
16, 2004, the Minister of Foreign Relations of Chile, Ignacio Walker,
and the Minister of International Trade for Canada, James S. Peterson,
are pleased to release the following Joint Statement, summarizing
the results of the meeting.
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE MINISTERS
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On the occasion of the fifth annual meeting of the Canada-Chile
Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) Commission, we welcomed the opportunity
to assess our achievements to date and review the state of the
implementation of the CCFTA. We were pleased to confirm that
our increasingly important bilateral trade and investment relationship
is being reinforced by the set of predictable and transparent
rules established by the CCFTA. The CCFTA has been in force
since 1997, making it one of the first FTAs for both of our
countries.
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Regarding the state of our trade and investment relationship,
we were delighted to note that the CCFTA remains a strong foundation
for economic growth in our countries. Since the Agreement came
into force in 1997, our bilateral trade has expanded significantly.
Two-way trade totalled over US$971 million in 2003 (using each
country’s import statistics as a base), which represents
a 54% increase over the pre-CCFTA level. Investment also has
been a clear success under the CCFTA. Canada is now the third
largest foreign investor in Chile1
.
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In looking to the future, we reaffirmed our commitment to maintaining
the CCFTA as a relevant and useful instrument that will continue
to benefit consumers, workers, farmers and companies in our
two countries for years to come. We endorsed the ongoing work
to further elaborate the Agreement and urged officials to continue
looking for opportunities to advance trade liberalization and
cooperation between our countries.
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Noting our shared view that transparency helps
to build public confidence in dispute settlement mechanisms,
we endorsed Declarations on non-disputing party submissions
and open hearings. These declarations represent a significant
step towards improving the transparency and operation of the
investor-state dispute settlement mechanism of the CCFTA.
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We were pleased to note that the flexible institutional framework
of the CCFTA has effectively kept pace with emerging challenges.
We were encouraged by the close cooperation that has developed
between officials of our two countries in the context of the
different CCFTA Committees and Working Groups. We are certain
that this cooperation will continue to facilitate the full implementation
of the CCFTA.
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We reviewed the progress achieved in implementing specific
provisions of the CCFTA and have agreed upon a number of actions
related to the implementation and further elaboration of this
Agreement, in order to increase opportunities for bilateral
trade. These actions are summarized in the Annex to this statement.
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The CCFTA story is about more than trade and investment. We
shared the view that our bilateral relationship has been enhanced
by the Canada – Chile Agreement on Labour Cooperation
and the Canada - Chile Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
and we welcomed the close cooperation that continues to develop
from ongoing activities under these successful agreements.
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We also welcomed the fact that the CCFTA has been complemented
by other bilateral agreements. We noted with particular pleasure
that the successful bilateral Air Transport Agreement is greatly
facilitating trade, as well as cultural and personal links between
our countries; and the Double Taxation Agreement, which facilitates
trade and investment.
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We also note that, since the implementation of the CCFTA, cooperation
between our countries in the area of science, technology and
innovation had been growing through a variety of public and
private ventures. We expressed our interest in the continuation
of these joint efforts.
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We shared the view that the Doha Round of multilateral trade
negotiations continues to hold tremendous prospects for all
participants in the world trading system, especially for developing
countries. We agreed that the July Package is an important step
forward, in particular, with respect to the prospects for the
fundamental reform of world agricultural trade. We also welcomed
the launch of negotiations on Trade Facilitation. We have committed
to work with other WTO members towards an ambitious outcome
in the lead up to the 2005 Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.
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At the same time, we reaffirmed our commitment to concluding
a comprehensive, high-quality Free Trade Area of the Americas
agreement. We expressed the hope that the negotiations will
be able to resume in the future and discussed possible approaches
to reinvigorate the process.
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Finally, we agreed that Canada will host the next annual meeting
of the CCFTA Commission.
ANNEX TO THE JOINT STATEMENT OF MINISTERS
IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS
In accordance with the mandate to supervise the implementation
and further elaboration of the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement,
pursuant to Article
N-01 of the Agreement, at the 5th meeting of the Free Trade Commission,
we:
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Took note of the progress in the negotiation of a government
procurement chapter, to be added to our CCFTA, and urged officials
to conclude negotiations as soon as possible.
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Encouraged officials to continue working to develop a basis
for addressing financial services disciplines in the CCFTA.
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Took note of an amendment to Chile’s tariff elimination
schedule under the CCFTA to provide Canada with the same tariff
treatment provided to the United States under the Chile-US FTA
for beef and pork.
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Took note of the discussions at the first meeting of the Committee
on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and instructed officials
to continue addressing issues of bilateral interest in this
area, as well as issues of shared interest in multilateral fora.
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Urged the Telecommunications Standards Subcommittee to continue
their useful exchange of views on the value of mutual recognition
agreements in this sector.
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Reaffirmed our view that Mutual Recognition Agreements among
bodies of professionals can significantly improve our bilateral
trade in services. We encourage the Chilean College of Engineers
and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers to intensify
their work toward the implementation of their Memorandum of
Understanding.
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Agreed on technical rectifications to the Rules of Origin that
reflect the amendments to the international “Nomenclature
of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System”
that came into effect on January 1, 2002.
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Instructed officials to intensify efforts to complete the
roster of panelists for dispute settlement purposes pursuant
to Article N-09 of the CCFTA.
1.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian Direct Investment in Chile
reached Can$5.93 billion in 2003. According to Chile’s Foreign
Investment Committee, Canadian investment in Chile in 2003 was US$8.02
billion
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