MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile Signs Tax Agreement, Talks Trade with N. Zealand

New Zealand signed a tax agreement with Chile that will complement a proposed free-trade agreement between the two nations and Singapore, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said in a statement.

The tax agreement prevents businesses from being taxed in one country and then taxed on the same profit or dividends in a second nation, and is aimed at reducing tax impediments to cross-border trade, Cullen said. He signed the agreement in Wellington with Chile's Finance Minister Nicolas Eyzaguirre.

Officials from Chile, New Zealand and Singapore met last month to continue negotiating their three-way economic partnership. The aim is to conclude talks by the time leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum nations meet in Chile next year, according to New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Ministry Web site.

New Zealand exported about NZ$33 million ($21 million) of dairy products and seeds to Chile in the year to June, and imported about NZ$31 million of grapes, wine and copper, Cullen said.