Seminar : Implementation and Administration of Free Trade Agreements: Challenges for Government and Business Groups

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC/CEPAL) held today September 22 the Seminar "Implementation and Administration of Free Trade Agreements: Challenges for Government and Business Groups" in the framework of the 11th negotiating round of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, and the United States in Cartagena, Colombia.

The event took place during the sessions of the cuarto adjunto (adjacent room) which accompany the negotiations. The seminar for business leaders and members of congress from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru is a contribution by CAF and ECLAC to the debate on building consensus on public policy and the instruments to take maximum advantage of the benefits of the FTA. Given the levels of attention that the negotiation phase receives, insufficient attention is paid to the fact that the real benefits of the FTA depend on capacity for implementation, a challenge that concerns both the government and the private sector. Although the FTA is no substitute for a development strategy or for well-managed international participation, it can be a powerful instrument to improve conditions of competitiveness and the business environment in which economic, commercial activity and foreign trade take place. In this task, the business sector has to handle a large amount of information for decision-making which is normally dispersed or difficult to access. The development of instruments to facilitate this task saves time and costs, makes export activity more efficient and optimizes the possibilities of the trade agreements.

On this basis, the objective of the seminar was to present the Chilean experience in the implementation and administration of its recent FTAs with the United States, the European Union and South Korea, as well as the other 12 agreements that Chile has signed.

The main speakers at the seminar were Osvaldo Rosales, director of the ECLAC International Trade and Integration Division. He was for many years director general of International Economic Relations of the Chilean Foreign Ministry, head of the Chilean negotiating team in the FTAs with the United States, European Union, South Korea, EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein). He has also advised various governments in the region on economic policy and trade negotiations. Roberto Matus, currently with the Office of International Economic Relations of the Chilean Foreign Ministry, with responsibility for the implementation and administration of trade agreements. He was trade director and head of the Economic Department of the Chilean Embassy in the United States. Claudio Ortiz, currently general manager of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce, former economic counselor of the Chilean Mission to the United Nations and GATT. He has also been director of various private sector companies. Hugo Patricio Baierlein, currently manager of the Foreign Trade Area of Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (SOFOFA) of Chile. He was head of the LAIA/ALADI Trade Policy Department and head of the Negotiations Department of the Office of international Economic Relations Office of the Chilean Foreign Ministry.