Chile asks to promote intraregional trade in Latin America

The growth potential of intraregional trade in Latin America is enormous but there are obstacles, such as bureaucratic procedures, that weigh down the process, especially for small and medium-sized companies in the region, said the general director of ProChileIgnacio Fernandez.

Latin America has a “very low intra-regional trade”among the minors in the world, hence there are “giant potential” explained Fernández, within the framework of the 2023 Latam Business Meeting, organized by ProChile and which culminated this Thursday in the capital of Panama.

At the end of the first semester of 2022, intraregional trade in Latin America and the Caribbean represented 15.8%, according to data from the Trade and Integration Monitor report of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

This reality is the result of many situations, one of which is that the region has been “slower than it should be in everything” regarding procedures and permits for trade, said the director of ProChile.

During the trade meeting in Panama, one of the discussions that involved the representatives of the public health institutions present revolved around the need to facilitate the procedures to trade products within the Latin American region.

It was discussed “How do we make it easier and friendlier, especially for our SMEs, than the paperwork that one has to do in Chili to get a product, it is recognizable in Panama, in Colombia, in Peru and we do not have to do the same procedure 2 or 3 times”.

“There we have to go much further. We hope that (this type of initiative) will continue to help strengthen intraregional trade,” Fernandez stated.

Chile as a platform for intraregional trade

In this scenario, Chile offers itself as a “platform” to promote trade within the region, based on its institutionality, seen in terms “of the security that we give to investors”since the Chilean institutions “they work and we can offer them to those who go to Chile and from Chile want to trade in third markets”Fernandez said.

Chile has “33 free trade agreements with 65 economies that mean more or less 88% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP)”which means that, for example, you can “bring polymers from Ecuador or other countries, transform it into boxes for food and export them to third markets with tariff benefits” that these agreements contemplate.

Chile also offers its fabric of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which “They really are very interested in going out and not only do they want to export, they are also very open to receiving products and seeing how they can cooperate in terms of production chainsFernandez said.

“And that all of this effectively means that the region continues to trade in the region much deeper,” Fernandez maintained.

Non-copper exports from Chile to countries in the region, including Central America and the Caribbean, South America and Mexico, exceeded US$ 11,538 million in 2022, representing 21% of total sales to the world, according to official data.

chili offer

Chile is a country “relevant” from the commercial point of view in Latin America, but “it alone cannot deepen intra-regional trade”Hence the importance of events such as the one held in Panama, which promote productive linkages among Latin American countries, said Fernández.

In this meeting, which brought together 60 Chilean exporters and more than 100 Latin American importers for three days, more than 550 meetings were held in which businesses for more than 23 million dollars are projected, according to official data provided.

Chile offered manufacturing, mainly packaging, pharmaceutical, forestry and agricultural products, “a very relevant offer but so obvious”, since the southern country is more linked to wine, fruit and copper, Fernández commented.

Source: EFE