Trinidad and Tobago and Chile commenced the Fourth Round of Negotiations for a Partial Scope Trade Agreement between the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago and the Republic of Chile on Tuesday, 30 May 2023. The Fourth Round will be held over a period of three consecutive days in Santiago, Chile and will build upon the success of the previous Negotiating Rounds held in 2021 and 2022. Negotiations will continue on issues such as Market Access; Legal and Institutional Issues; Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS); Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures; Trade Facilitation; Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT); Trade Remedies; and Competition Policy.
Among the benefits anticipated to emerge from the conclusion of the Agreement are: lower import duties for locally produced goods entering the Chilean market, and elimination of known non-tariff barriers. Trinidad and Tobago also stands to gain from cheaper inputs for the manufacturing sector and more affordable consumer goods from Chile. Both sides are also seeking to enhance cooperation in the areas of trade facilitation and electronic trade in order to facilitate trading online between the countries. The Partial Scope Trade Agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and Chile will allow Trinidad and Tobago’s exports to enter the Chilean market of over nineteen (19) million persons.
The Trinidad and Tobago delegation to Chile is led by Chief Negotiator, His Excellency Colin Connelly, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Belgium, and comprises Mr. Randall Karim, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry; Ms. Trudy Lewis, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs; and Mr. Brian Benjamin, Manager – Trade Facilitation, exporTT. The Chilean delegation is led by Chief Negotiator, Mr. Sebastián Gómez Fiedler, Director General of Bilateral Economic Affairs, Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile.
