Chile market snapshot
- GDP: US$203.3 billion (2010)
- GDP per capita: US$11,828 (2010)
- GDP growth: 5.3 per cent (2010)
- Population: 17.2 million (2010)
- Trade with Australia: AU$1.583 billion (2010)
About the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement
The Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement is Australia's fifth FTA and the first to be concluded with a Latin American country. The FTA delivers the most comprehensive outcome on goods in any such agreement negotiated with another agricultural producing country since the Closer Economic Relations Agreement with New Zealand.
The Agreement eliminates immediately Chile's tariffs on almost 92 per cent of tariff lines covering 97 per cent of goods currently traded. This includes Australian coal, meat, wine and key dairy exports and all other industrial goods of interest to Australia. The FTA strengthens commercial links between Australia and Chile and with Latin America more generally.
Then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith and his Chilean counterpart, Alejandro Foxley, signed the Australia-Chile FTA in Canberra on 30 July 2008. The text of the Agreement was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 17 June 2008 with entry into force on 6 March 2009.
Key interests and benefits
- Elimination of tariffs on all existing merchandise trade by 2015
- National treatment for Australian goods, services and suppliers in the Chilean market for procurements above agreed value thresholds.
- Locks in both sides' liberal services and investment regimes.
- Locks in both sides' high standards of IP protection for patents, trademarks, geographical indications and copyright.
News
Australia-Chile FTA comes into force - 5 March 2009
The FTA eliminates immediately Chile's tariffs on almost 92 per cent of tariff lines covering 97 per cent of goods currently traded. This includes Australian exports of coal, meat, wine and key dairy products. Tariffs on all existing merchandise trade will be eliminated by 2015. Reflecting the Government's increasing focus on helping services suppliers, the FTA includes commitments by Chile to maintain an open and non-discriminatory market for Australian services, including in important sectors for Australia such as education, professional services, mining, engineering, management consulting and financial services. Chile is Australia's third largest trading partner in Latin America and there are approximately 120 Australian companies actively trading with Chile.
Official documents
Here you can locate the full text of the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement and other associated official documents.
Full text of the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement
- Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement [HTML]
- Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement [PDF 1.22 MB]
- Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement [DOC 1.39 MB]
- Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement [RTF 3.61 MB]
- English and Spanish versions are also available in HTML format on the AustLII website
Rules and schedules
For business
The Australian Trade Commission’s (Austrade) AClFTA website has further information about the agreement.
For more information on doing business in Chile and about specific export opportunities, go to the Austrade website. As well as country-specific information, the Austrade website also has a database that can be searched by industry.
A key Chilean implementing agency for the FTA is the General Directorate of International Economic Affairs in the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (known as DIRECON).
Information from DIRECON on the Australia-Chile FTA
Australian exporters seeking to access new opportunities under the Australia-Chile FTA may wish to obtain more information on rules of origin and other requirements from the Australian Customs Service.
Resources
- Background to the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement
- The negotiation of the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement
- Summary of key obligations
- Further information (in Spanish) on the implementation of the FTA is available from Chile’s National Customs Service.
Brochure
Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement brochure - March 2009 [PDF 472 KB]
Fact sheets
Contact us
Requests for further information and advice should be directed to:
Director,
South America and COALAR Section
Americas and Africa Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Phone: (02) 6261 3904
- Fax: (02) 6261 3629