SIR Economics Investigation Abstract
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILE-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IN ILLINOIS: PROMOTING CHILEAN EXPORTS
Presenter:
Harry Thompson, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Mentors:
Sr. Consul Alejandro Rogers, Consulate General of Chile, Chicago, IL
Mr. Jaime Melendez, Consulate General of Chile, Chicago, IL
Abstract:
On June 6th, 2003 representatives from both the United States and Chile were brought together in Miami to formally sign a bilateral free trade agreement that reduced tariffs and opened the way for new trade between many businesses. With a growing economy, Chile continues to lead Latin America in many sectors, such as copper, fresh produce, wine, and fish/seafood. We assessed each of these sectors to see which ones we would hypothesize to have the greatest potential for businesses and consumers in Chicago. We decided to look at the fish and seafood industry, which has full tariff reduction in effect. After contact with more than twenty different importers and distributors, we have seen that the industry is maturing. Direct importation to the Chicago area, instead of relying on East Coast distributors, has been another option.
We have found that many businesses are continuing to import directly from Chile in large quantities and have found working with Chile to be a high potential source of fish and seafood products. They have noted that the FTA has made importing and customs easier and less expensive. We believe that importers and distributors will in the future use Chile as a gateway to Latin American trade.