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thTrade Policy Review of Chile
October 7th, 2009
Statement by the Republic of Korea
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me begin by joining others in expressing a warm welcome to the delegation of the Chile for their fourth trade policy review. My appreciation goes to Mrs. Ana Novik, Director, Multilateral Economic Affairs, for her detailed and informative presentation on the economic achievements of Chile since 2003. My appreciation also goes to Amb.
Guth for his insightful comments relevant to our work today, and to the Secretariat as well for its usual detailed report.
Mr. Chairman, since the early 1980s Chile has been at the forefront of introducing bold new economic reform measures providing text-book examples of success for others to emulate. The two circulated reports show that this track record of success has continued over the period under review, and for this we express our sincere kudos.
Although in the recent months it has been affected by the global economic crisis, over the period of 2003 through 2008 Chile has achieved a solid record of annual average growth rate of 4.8%. During this period it has attained one of the highest per capita income in Latin America. Inflation rates have been kept in check (between 2% to 4%
per year), the government’s balances recorded surplus every year, and the external current account posted a positive balance for much of this time.
It is clear Chile has done many things right, and its success showcases what developing countries can achieve under stable leadership, with a clear blue-print for economic development which incorporates effective structural reform measures, and a clear strategy for liberalizing its trading and investment regimes.
(Moving on to bilateral relations . . . )
Mr. Chairman, the bilateral economic relations between Chile and Korea has developed and matured over the years in line with Korea and Chile’s respective commitment to economic reform and liberalization of its economy.
In particular, the bilateral FTA has played an important role in boosting bilateral trade.
According to our figures, soon after the FTA was put into force bilateral trade volumes have registered near five-fold increases in just 4 years of implementation.
Mr. Chairman, as I said earlier, Chile has done many things right. However, from our perspective there are some aspects of its trading regime which might warrant a second look. Please allow me to refer to some of them today.
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As many speakers have pointed out before me, we would like to express our concerns with regards to Chile’s Price Band system. Korea is clearly not an agricultural exporter, and as such does not have commercial interests on the products subject to the system.
We are, however, a member of the multilateral trading system with great interest in its stability and security. In this context, we are cautious and wary of any measure that might adversely affect the well functioning of the multilateral trading system. As such, we hope for a quick and amicable resolution to the Price Band system issue: we will look forward to the implementation of a new law which is in line with the findings of the most recent panel and AB reports.
Mr. Chairman, we note that Chile prohibits the import of used motor vehicles, as well as used and retreaded tyres. While for the moment we do not have specific issues on this item, we wonder, just like the Secretariat in para 14 of “Summary Observations”, whether there is a willingness on the part of Chile to study for alternative measures which are less trade-restrictive yet achieves the same policy objectives.
Lastly, we note that Chile is not a signatory to the GPA; it is, for the moment, an observer in the committee. However, given Chile’s commitment to reform its procurement regime making it more transparent and efficient, we believe it is high time for Chile to be joining the GPA. We would appreciate hearing Chile’s views on this matter.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to once again extend the best wishes of this delegation to the delegation of Chile on their 4th Trade Policy Review, and hope that this review will be a valuable opportunity for Chile to take stock of the successes it has achieved so far, and take stock of what needs to be done to continue this trend.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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