US, Chile Sign Free Trade Agreement

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 07, 2003

US, Chile Sign Free Trade Agreement

The United States and Chile on Friday signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first one between the US and a South American country.

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The United States and Chile on Friday signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first one between the US and a South American country.

"This is an historic agreement that sets a high benchmark for future FTAs. I'm honored to represent President Bush, whose leadership and convictions have helped to restore American trade and economic leadership," said US Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick in a statement released Friday.

"This state of the art agreement slashes tariffs and quotas, reduces barriers for services, protects leading-edge intellectual property, keeps pace with new technologies and new ways of doing business, ensures regulatory transparency, and promotes labor and environmental protections," said Zoellick.

Zoellick and Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear signed theagreement at a ceremony at Miami, Florida.

According to the agreement, which is still subject to rectification of both country's legislatures, 85 percent of industrial products will be traded without duties, said the statement.

Moreover, 75 percent of farm produces will also be freely traded. After just ten years, all trade in non-agricultural goods will take place without tariffs or quotas; for agriculture, the phase out will take just 12 years.

A media report quoted Zoellick as saying that the deal will have a positive impact on efforts to achieve a 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas by January 2005.

The US-Chile two-way trade in goods (exports plus imports) totaled 6.4 billion US dollars in 2002. Two-way trade in services in 2001 (latest year available) amounted to 2.2 billion dollars, official figures showed.

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