MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile/India partial trade agreement

In just five rounds and record time Chile and India concluded negotiations for a Partial Trade Agreement which contemplates reciprocal access of several hundred products with considerable tariff reductions and leaves for the future other controversial sectors such as investments and services.

Both countries agree that this is the first step for a more ambitious free trade accord which they are committed to continue negotiating. Meantime during the first half of next year, 98% of current Chilean exports to India will experience an average 20% tariff reduction and similarly for 91% of products from India, according to Chilean Foreign Affairs minister Ignacio Walker.

Of the 266 Chilean products benefited with the agreement, only 83 are effectively exported to India including copper, pulp, certain types of wood, salmon, pork, poultry, while 296 Indian products will have a similar benefited access to the Chilean market.

Chilean pork and poultry will experience a 10% tariff reduction but copper 50%.

This has been seen as a big triumph taking into account that India's average tariff ranges 30% compared to the 6% of Chile.

Bilateral trade in 2004 reached just over half a billion US dollars, 426 million US dollars of Chilean exports and 100 million Indian sales.

"This has been a particularly encouraging time for Chile since we've reached trade agreements with the world's two most populated countries (China and India), we've began talks with Japan and have feasibility soundings with Malaysia and Thailand", said Mr. Walker.

At the beginning of the year Chile had trade agreements with countries representing a population of 1.3 billion and following this week's achievements the number has rocketed to 4.8 billion which is equivalent to 74% of the globe's population.

Actually 75% of all Chilean trade is covered by special treaties and agreements including the country's two main partners, United States and China, plus the European Union, Mercosur, EFTA, P4 (New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei), Korea, Mexico, Canada and Peru.

Chile's exports are forecasted to reach 39 billion US dollars this year, with foreign trade representing 65% of the country's GDP.