The Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, referred last Thursday to the tariffs applied by the government of the United States  to all countries including Chile. Our country was affected by the general base increase of 10%, the minimum applied to economies that do not register a trade deficit with the US. 

 In this regard, he assured that "as a government, we deeply regret these measures, particularly the fact that we are subject to a tariff that does not seem to be justified. These measures steem from a vision of world trade as a zero-sum game, which Chile certainly does not share, considering that exports have been an important engine of the development of our economy for several decades."

He also emphasized that Chile will continue its free trade strategy. "Therefore, Chile is going to maintain the orientation of openness to global trade, because it believes that it is an important path to the growth and development of countries. It is illustrative to note that at the same time that these measures were announced in Washington, the President of Chile was in India with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a business delegation, seeking to open that vast market to Chilean exports through a free trade agreement." 

In the particular case of Chile, products such as copper and timber were temporarily excluded from this measure, pending a special investigation with a 270 days deadline, to which our country has already submitted the corresponding information in the public consultation opened by the United States. 

Regarding the products that will be taxed at 10%, Minister Marcel stressed that "Chile will not lose competitiveness with respect to other countries that supply the US market. Competing countries are going to enter with a tariff equal to or greater than 10% and the cost related to importing from Chile or from another country will be equal or more favorable for Chile than what currently exists." It could even represent an advantage, considering that "Chile's competitors are subject to a higher tariff may allow us to increase our participation in U.S. purchases in the short term," the Minister said.

The Minister of Finance emphasized, however, that "we are facing a scenario that is complex, which is a shock to the national economy, to the world economy, to the way the world economy has operated for many years. But this is a environment that we have to face with serenity and intelligence. Serenity because, firstly, the impacts on the Chilean economy are limited because of the place that Chile occupies within this set of measures. Secondly, because with the United States we have a Free Trade Agreement and we have to be able to work within that."  

And he added: "We are a good trading partner of the United States, as we are with many other countries with which Chile engages foreign trade. And, therefore, all the networks that have been built around this trajectory of several decades are in place to be able to support and strengthen Chile's position in this scenario." In fact, he recalled that  the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States -which celebrated its 20th anniversary, contains  a dispute resolution mechanism, an institutional framework that will be resorted to.

Precisely on Chile's position in foreign trade, the minister  highlighted the government's strategy to diversify it in the long term. "Chile has four processes underway at different stages of progress, to seek new Free Trade Agreements. India, for example, in which we have had good news in terms of the reception . Negotiations have also begun with the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia. This is the agenda currently under development, and we are still in the process of taking advantage of the tax  breaks that occurred for certain countries as a result of Chile's entry into the CPTPP, in particular with Vietnam and Japan."