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Trade pact will be signed in Miami and is expected to significantly enhance an existing $6 billion trade relationship.

WASHINGTON, DC - The US and Chile will sign the US-Chile Free Trade Agreement on Friday, June 6th in Miami. US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will sign the agreement on behalf of the United States, and Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear will sign for Chile.
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Once signed, the agreement must be approved by both the U.S. and Chilean legislatures.
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The negotiations that resulted in the FTA were completed last December 11. Under the Trade Act of 2002, the Administration must notify Congress at least 90 days before signing the agreement.? That notification was sent to Congress on January 30. As soon as the negotiations were completed, the agreement underwent an extensive legal review.?
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The agreement is the first between the US and a South American country, and will be the sixth Free Trade Agreement entered into by the US.? Four are in effect - those with? Canada and Mexico (NAFTA); Israel; and, Jordan - while an FTA with Singapore was also recently signed.

Both the Chile and Singapore FTAs require Congressional ratification. In accordance with TPA requirements, the Office of the US Trade Representative will work closely and expeditiously with the Congress on legislation to implement these agreements.?
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Two-way trade in goods between the US and Chile totaled $6.4 billion in 2002, with the US in deficit by $1.2 billion.? Two-way trade in services in 2001 amounted to $2.2 billion, with the US in surplus by $472 million.? Since 1994, US goods trade with Chile has expanded by 39% (to 2002) and services trade by 37% (to 2001).
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The US and Chile began bilateral negotiations on an FTA in December, 2000, holding a series of 14 negotiating rounds with teams of specialists, alternating between Santiago, Chile and cities in the US, including Miami, Atlanta and Washington, DC.

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