High-level delegations from EFTA and Chile acknowledge conclusion of modernised Free Trade Agreement

On 27 February 2024, Ministers and high-level representatives from the EFTA States – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – and Chile gathered to acknowledge the successful conclusion of their modernised Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The meeting took place in the margins of the 13^th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide headed the EFTA delegation, while Vice Minister of Trade Claudia Sanhueza led the Chilean delegation.

During the meeting, both delegations noted that the modernised FTA would further strengthen their already tight trade relations.

The EFTA–Chile FTA came into force in 2004, and the modernisation process was initiated in 2019. On 19 January 2024, after seven rounds of negotiations, a modernised, ambitious and comprehensive agreement was finalised. The FTA now contains modernised regulations on trade in goods, trade in services including financial services, intellectual property rights and government procurement. Furthermore, it now includes chapters on trade and sustainable development, digital trade and, for the first time in EFTA’s history, a chapter on small and medium-sized enterprises. The signing of the modernised FTA will take place during the EFTA Ministerial meeting in Geneva on 24 June 2024.

A chapter-by-chapter factsheet providing an overview of the modernised agreement is available here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Chile

Bilateral EFTA–Chile merchandise trade reached almost EUR 847 million in 2022. EFTA’s main exports to Chile were pharmaceutical products, machinery and mechanical appliances, ships, boats and floating structures, precision instruments (optical, medical, surgical), and watches. For the same year, imports from Chile consisted mainly of chemicals, fruits and nuts, fats and oils, beverages and spirits, and animal feed.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Chile here.