London (Parliament Politics Maganize) – Chile is one of the United Kingdom’s most important trading partners in Latin America and also a fellow member in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The CPTPP is signed by 11 states including Vietnam, Chile, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, Canada and Japan. The agreement is a separate treaty with incorporation of provisions of the trans-pacific partnership agreement (TPP).
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership:
The goal of this agreement is to provide a platform for free trade among countries in order to pursue increased economic advantages and investments that will also ultimately play a vital role in achieving global peace. The United Kingdom requested to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in February 2021 and officially became a member of the agreement in July 2023.
The CPTPP also recognizes challenges faced by the small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in establishing import and export markets following the inclusion of outcomes to help make these tasks easier for regions lying under the boundaries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The export minister Lord Offord in Santiago, Chile is leading a trade mission of British hydrogen and renewable energy companies to match them with business opportunities in the country. The key role of this mission is to introduce the Chilean developers and prospective customers with the business ideas for renewable energy productions. The minister will also be making the developers understand how the British companies can be an asset to the Chilean industries and developers.
Minister for Exports Malcolm Offord said:
“With Chile’s ambition to boost its renewable energy infrastructure, and the UK’s expertise and capabilities in this field, there is a clear opportunity for both our countries to benefit and prosper.
Chile is one of our most important trading partners in Latin America and with our upcoming accession to CPTPP I want to see trade between us boosted even further.”
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The trade agreement between the UK and Chile:
The trade agreement between the UK and Chile, known as the UK-Chile Association Agreement, was signed on January 30, 2019, and entered into force on January 1, 2021. It was the first agreement signed by the UK as a transition agreement with a trading partner after Brexit. The agreement includes provisions on trade in goods and services, preferential tariffs, tariff rate quotas, rules of origin, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures
The UK government aims to support Chile in harnessing its potential in renewables, including low carbon hydrogen, with expertise from UK companies. The agreement is expected to enhance the bilateral relationship in key sectors such as energy and infrastructure services, and CPTPP membership will further boost this trading relationship
The UK and Chile signed a continuity agreement to ensure that British businesses and consumers continue to benefit from preferential trading arrangements with Chile after Brexit.
The agreement is designed to preserve the links and preferential conditions relating to trade between the two countries, which resulted from the EU-Chile Agreement, and to provide a platform for further trade.
Patricio Maguire, Director of Turner and Townsend Chile said:
“Chile and the UK share a long history of cooperation. Green hydrogen and carbon capture industries are other examples of new areas of integration. While Chile has a vast stock of clean energy resources and a mature industrial environment, the UK is a leading actor in the decarbonisation industry and, in particular, offers top notch technologies in electrolysis for H2 production.
As the local branch of a global UK-based consultancy firm, we, at Turner & Townsend, are proud to be part of the energy transition industry and look forward to continuing to provide our expertise and global footprint at the service of their actors.”