Canada - Chile Free Trade Agreement

Canada-Chile Free Trade Commission

Sixth Meeting of the Chile-Canada Free Trade Commission: Joint Minutes

SANTIAGO, CHILE

June 14, 2007

JOINT MINUTES

1. On the occasion of the sixth meeting of the Chile-Canada 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.
   
2. 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 in goods totalled over US$2.128 billion in 2006 (using each country’s import statistics as a base), which represents a 225% increase over the pre-CCFTA level. Investment also has been a clear success under the CCFTA[1]. According to Chilean statistics, Canada was the largest source of new investment in Chile in 2006.
   
3. 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.
   
4. Noting our shared view that transparency helps to build public confidence in dispute settlement mechanisms, and having endorsed the Declarations on non-disputing Party submissions and open hearings, we believe there is merit in considering clarifications to the expropriation article of the CCFTA investment chapter.
   
5. Canada noted that it had recently provided information to Chile’s competent authorities in regards to removing Chilean restrictions to imports of Canadian beef and cattle and expressed hope that the market will be re-opened shortly. Chile informed that it has received the information and that it is under consideration.
   
6. 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.
   
7. 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.
   
8. We acknowledge that the CCFTA goes beyond trade and investment. We shared the view that our bilateral relationship has been enhanced by the Chile-Canada Agreement on Labour Cooperation and the Chile-Canada Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and we welcomed the close cooperation that continues from ongoing activities under these successful agreements.
   
9. We noted with particular pleasure the conclusion and signature of the bilateral government procurement chapter to be added to the CCFTA and expressed hope that both Parties will complete their domestic steps to implement the agreement as soon as possible. We also welcomed the significant progress towards the completion of a financial services chapter and encouraged officials to complete their work in the near term.
   
10. We also note that since the implementation of the CCFTA, cooperation between our countries in the area of science, technology and innovation has grown through various public and private initiatives.We expressed our interest in the continuation of these joint efforts.
    
11. 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. Both countries strongly encourage the conclusion of an ambitious outcome to Doha Round negotiations.
    
12. Finally, we agreed that Canada will host the next annual meeting of the CCFTA Commission in 2008.

ANNEX TO THE JOINT MINUTES

IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS

In accordance with the mandate to supervise the implementation and further elaboration of the Chile-Canada Free Trade Agreement, pursuant to Article N-01 of the Agreement, at the 6th meeting of the Free Trade Commission, we:

• Took note of the steps that are being taken in the approval and implementation of the recently negotiated government procurement chapter, to be added to our CCFTA, and urged officials to conclude these steps as soon as possible.
  
• Encouraged officials to conclude the negotiation of the financial services chapter in the near term, to also be added to our CCFTA.
  
• Requested that our specialists discuss possible clarifications to the expropriation articles, specifically on indirect expropriation.
  
• Encouraged officials to negotiate a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.
  
• Took note of the discussions at the third 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.
  
• Request that the Committee on Trade in Goods and Rules of Origin meet to discuss issues relating to: possible further market access liberalization, technical rectifications to the Rules of Origin that reflect the transposition of the rules of origins to the HS2007 system, rules of origin liberalization and accumulation of origin.
  
• Urged all committees and subcommittees to take stock of the issues that are of concern and find ways by which to meet and address these issues.

^{[1] CAD$ 5.2 billion, Statistics Canada}

^{US$ 10.4 billion, Comité de Inversión Extranjera, Chile}