The Pacific Alliance

The Pacific Alliance: deep integration aimed at prosperityThe Pacific Alliance is a mechanism for the economic and commercial integration of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, formally established via the Framework Agreement of 6 June 2012. The Alliance also establishes an important commitment to cooperation in the matter of flexible migration.

The deep integration sought through the Pacific Alliance makes the markets of its Member States even more attractive to the rest of the world, particularly the Asia Pacific.

Australia

Spain

New Zealand

Costa Rica

Guatemala

Uruguay

Panama

Canada

Japan

Mexico

Colombia

Peru

Chile

Member StatesThe Pac i f i c A l l i ance

Observer States The Pac i f i c A l l i ance

Objectives of the Pacific Alliance:

To construct, in a participatory and consensual manner, an area of profound market-driven economic integration that will contribute to the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons.

To promote the growth, development and competitiveness of the Parties’ economies, with the objective of achieving greater welfare and overcoming socioeconomic inequalities.

To become a platform for economic and commercial integration as well as political coordination with global outreach, particularly towards the Asia Pacific.

The Pacific Alliance has an active and comprehensive agenda based on results achieved to date in trade with joint and coordinated action between export promotion agencies, cooperation in climate change research, student mobility and flexible migration, amongst other matters.

Benefits of the Pacific Alliance(Trade, investment and services)

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru have a solid, democratic institutional structures, with regularly elected presidents, dynamic, globalized markets and positive investment conditions.

According to the World Bank's 2012 Doing Business Report, of the 32 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region, the countries of the Alliance hold first, third, fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the ease of doing business ranking1.

1 Ranking refers to qualification in ten aspects of ease of doing business. A good position means that the regulatory environment favors entrepreneurial activity.

Economic aspects

As an economic bloc, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru have a total population of over 209 million inhabitants, 36% of the Latin American and Caribbean total, with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of US$10,011.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Pacific Alliance member countries accounts for 35% of the total Latin American and Caribbean GDP. In 2012, the Alliance Members States' average growth rate of 5% was higher than the global average of 3.2%.

High macro-economic stability and their capacity for annual market expansion are characteristic of the bloc's four Member States.

• In 2012, the Alliance Member States had an average unemployment rate of 7.1% and average inflation rate of 2.7%, below the regional average of 4.6%.

• Together, the four members of the Pacific Alliance account for 50% of trade in the region, with exports of US$556,000 million and imports of US$551,000 million in 2012.

• The Pacific Alliance countries’ main export products are fuels, mining products, agricultural products and manufactured goods and therefore their supply is complementary to Asia Pacific markets.

• The countries of the Pacific Alliance represent 26% of total FDI flows of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Colombia

“I have no hesitation whatsoever in stating that the Pacific Alliance integration process is the most important in the entire history of Latin America”

Juan Manuel Santos

Chile

22 Trade Agreements

60 Countries

12 Free Trade Agreements

30 Countries

Source: Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“We have culminated this Paranal Summit (*), which has seen the official birth of the Pacific Alliance, seeking deep integration, as it goes far beyond the issues of free trade and includes the free movement of people, free trade in goods, the free flow of investments. It also represents the vocation and commitment of Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile to join forces through this deep integration to join forces through this deep integration to project ourselves, with joint and mutual support, into the world of Asia-Pacific, which is the world of the present and the world of the future.

(*) IV Summit of the Pacific Alliance, Paranal, Antofagasta, Chile.

Sebastián Piñera

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism

“For us, the Pacific Alliance is a regional political integration proposal, through which we are seeking the wellbeing of our peoples, an agreement that benefits trade and the economy (...) What we are trying to do here is to find mechanisms that improve the quality of life of our people”

Ollanta Humala

“The Pacific Alliance promotes the integration of Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico as an effective instrument through which to accelerate the development and welfare of their peoples”

Enrique Peña Nieto

Mexico PeruSource: Mexican Economic Secretariat Source: Ministry of Foreign Tourism and Trade ,

Commercial Agreements of Peru

12 Free Trade Agreements

30 Countries

15 Free Trade Agreements

50 Countries

The Pacific Alliance Institutional Framework

Following the Presidential Declaration on the Pacific Alliance of 28 April 2011 (Lima, Peru), technical working groups have been established to address different negotiation topics:

Trade and Integration: this group is responsible for the negotiation on the elimination of tariffs, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade facilitation and customs cooperation.

Services and Capital: this group is responsible for e-commerce, investment negotiations, cross-border trade in services, financial services, telecommunications, air and maritime transport and professional engineering services. This group also seeks an integration of stock exchanges.

Cooperation: The main issues addressed are the platform for student and academic mobility, the network for scientific research on climatic change, MSMEs, physical interconnection and the Mutual Cooperation Fund.

Movement of Business People and Facilitation of Migration: main topics include the facilitation of migratory movement and the free flow of business people, consular cooperation and work-study programme for students, as well as cooperation and information exchange on migration flows.

Institutional Matters: the main objective is to agree on all the instruments relating to institutional issues of the Pacific Alliance.

PRESIDENTS

Councils of Ministers

GAN

Observers

Pro Tempore Presidency

The Framework Agreement of 6 June 2012 established the Council of Ministers as the main entity of the Pacific Alliance. It is composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Foreign Trade of each Member State. Their function is to take decisions on the implementation of the objectives and specific actions detailed in the Framework Agreement as well as the Alliance’s Presidential Declarations.

The Presidents agreed to establish a High Level Group (Grupo de Alto Nivel – GAN), attended by Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, to monitor the progress of the technical groups and evaluate new areas for continued developments.

It was also decided that the Alliance’s Pro Tempore Presidency shall be held successively by each of the Parties, in alphabetical order, for annual periods beginning in January.

Movementof persons

Trade andIntegration

Services and Capital Cooperation Institutional

Matters

Principal achievements of the Pacific Alliance

- Eliminiation of the visa requirement for Colombian and Peruvian nationals travelling to Mexico to undertake remunerated activities for up to 180 days.

- Establishment of the Platform for academic and student mobility. In 2013, up to 100 scholarships will be given per country for undergraduate and postgraduate students and professors. The first lot have already been awarded and the beneficiaries are currently involved in academic activities in the universities of the Pacific Alliance Members linked to the platform. Applications for 2013 are currently being received.

- Signature of the Tourism Cooperation Agreement, aimed at strengthening and developing cooperation based on the design of initiatives that seek to increase the movement of tourists between the participants.

- Creation of the Pacific Alliance Business Council, with the objective of promoting the Pacific Alliance, as well as make issue recommendations and suggestions for improved integration, and encourage joint actions towards third party markets, especially the Asia Pacific.

- Coordination among the four trade promotion agencies of the Pacific Alliance (ProMexico, Promperu, ProChile and Proexport) for joint activities. Among the progress achieved in this area, the agreement to share offices should be highlighted. The first of these is already operating in Istanbul, Turkey.

2010

2011

2011

2012

201320124 December

2014

17 November

Timeline

On 28 April 2011, the Heads of State of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru agreed on the Declaration of Lima establishing the Pacific Alliance with the aim of “advancing progressi-vely towards the free flow of goods, services, capitals and persons”. Panama was also invited to participate in the process as an Observer State.

The IV Summit was held in in the Paranal Observatory of Antofagasta, Chile, on 6 June 2012. There, the Framework Agreement was subscribed formally establishing the Pacific Alliance. It is a legal instrument which creates the institutional basis of this regional integration initiative, as well as defining its objectives and establishing the requirements for the future participation of other countries of the region.

During the VI Summit of the Pacific Alliance held in Santiago de Chile on 27 January 2013, the Presidents agreed that all negotiations currently under way and those with a negotiation mandate would be concluded by 30 June 2013.

During the II Summit held in Mexico on 4 December 2011, the Presidents of agreed to sign a Pacific Alliance Treaty within six months.

The V Pacific Alliance Summit was held on 17 November 2012, in Cadiz, Spain. Mexico also announced its removal of visa requirements for Colombians and Peruvians. Australia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Uruguay were welcomed as Observer States of this initiative.

28 April 6 June 2012 5 March

26 January

At the III Presidential Summit, held via teleconference, Costa Rica was included as an Observer State.