President Bachelet Signs Free Trade Agreement with Colombia

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe signed a bilateral free trade agreement on November 27, 2006. The agreement was completed on October 27 in the Caribbean coast port of Barranquilla, Colombia, after two months of negotiations.

"Signing this free trade agreement focuses our attention on the progressively more mature bilateral relationship, reflected in part by an upswing in our economic relations," President Bachelet said during the signing ceremony held in La Moneda Palace.

President Bachelet highlighted the importance of the bilateral trade between the two countries, which increased from 430 million dollars in 2001 to 690 million dollars in 2005. Meanwhile, Chilean investment in Colombia has also increased, reaching a total of 3.3 billion dollars between 1990 and 2005. She also said that the FTA contemplates not only trade flows but also investment, making it the most in-depth agreement ever to be signed between two Latin American countries.

Furthermore, President Bachelet emphasized the similar viewpoints on foreign policy shared by Chile and Colombia, particularly regarding regional affairs. She also pointed out that Chile and Colombia have a common perspective on strengthening the South American Community of Nations as a space for integration in the region. President Bachelet also thanked President Uribe for his effort to incorporate Chile as an associate member of the Andean Community.

Chile and Colombia signed a Trade Agreement in 1994 which eliminates tariffs on 95 percent of the products produced by the two countries in a phase-out period that finishes on 2011. The newly signed agreement, now a Free Trade Agreement, includes provisions covering a vast array of matters such as health, investment, services, public purchasing and intellectual property.