Alem Tedeneke, Media Manager, World Economic Forum; Tel.: +1 646 204 9191, +52 55 6608 7317; Email: ated@weforum.org
Riviera Maya, Mexico, 7 May 2015 – The Pacific Alliance is not even three years old but has already made remarkable progress towards integrating the economies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and opening them to the world.
Ministers have agreed on a free trade agreement to end tariffs immediately on 92% of products traded among the four countries and to phase out tariffs on most of the rest within the next seven years. Peru’s Congress has already approved the agreement and the other countries’ legislatures are expected to approve it by 1 January 2016. The group is now actively seeking to grow trade outside its borders, too. The Pacific Alliance has already integrated capital markets in the four countries and lifted visa restrictions among them, facilitating investment and boosting cross-border tourism.
Magali Silva, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, said that three factors had permitted such rapid progress: clear mandates to the ministers responsible for negotiations; close cooperation with business leaders; and constant communication with legislatures to ensure their support.
Andrés Rozental, Chairman of the Board, ArcelorMittal, Mexico, said, “The Pacific Alliance is more than a free trade area. It is an agenda.” Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Secretary of Economy of Mexico, said that this agenda includes the creation of synergies for innovation and for research and development. The countries are also improving and harmonizing regulations, especially in sanitation. “The Pacific Alliance is an initiative to align our economies,” Guajardo Villarreal said.
Peru and Mexico, for example, have worked to integrate Mexico’s automobile industry with Peru’s small and medium enterprises that can help supply that industry and thus enter the global value chain. “Integration with Mexico will be the driving force towards the internationalization of Peru’s SMEs,” Silva said.
The Pacific Alliance’s success has attracted global interest. Thirty-two countries, including Germany, Japan, the United States, Israel and New Zealand, now have observer status. Many observer countries have already increased cooperation and trade with the Pacific Alliance countries, and many are also working to become fully fledged members.
“There is no limit to the countries that can join,” Guajardo Villarreal said. “We are not a closed bloc.”
More than 750 participants are taking part in the 10th World Economic Forum on Latin America in Riviera Maya, Mexico from 6 to 8 May 2015. The theme of the meeting is “Advancing through a Renovation Agenda”.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic on Latin America are: Carlos Brito, Chief Executive Officer, Anheuser-Bush InBev, USA; Carlos Slim Domit, Chairman, América Movil, Mexico; Angelica Fuentes, President of Angelica Fuentes Foundation, Mexico; Eduardo Leite, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Baker & McKenzie, USA; Ignacio Sánchez-Galán, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola, Spain; and Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA.
Notes to Editors
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