(NOTE: This press release was originally released in Miami, Florida, on March 30th, following the third negotiating round.)

United States and Chile Free Trade Agreement: Third Negotiating Round

United States and Chile trade negotiators met March 26-30 in Miami, Florida, for the third round of negotiations on the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement.

More than one hundred negotiators were involved in the negotiations, which were conducted at the University of Miami’s School of Business. All negotiating groups met during this session, and many have begun to develop working texts for negotiation.

Both the United States and Chile seek to create a comprehensive and inclusive agreement that reflects their shared commitment to free trade and economic integration. When completed, the U.S.-Chile FTA will set a high standard for such agreements in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world. The U.S.-Chile negotiation exemplifies the U.S. commitment to developing closer economic ties with its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.

The negotiations were launched in December 2000 in Washington, D.C. The second round of negotiations took place January 8-11 in Santiago, Chile. The Miami round will be the last round before the Summit of the Americas meeting taking place on April 20-22 in Quebec, Canada. Both countries look forward to a fourth round in Santiago in May. United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will travel to Santiago for his first international trip as USTR. He will continue on to the Free trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

USTR and other agencies have been consulting with a wide variety of U.S. business and civil society groups in preparation for these negotiations. USTR received more than 100 submissions to a Federal Register Notice request for comments on the negotiations.

Bilateral trade between the United States and Chile has more than doubled in the past decade to nearly $6 billion annually.