United Kingdom – Chile Trade Dialogue Ministerial Joint Statement

Minister for Trade, Penny Mordaunt MP welcomed the Chilean Minister for Trade, Rodrigo Yañez to London for the annual UK- Chile Trade dialogue, on 25th October 2021.

Both Ministers agreed on the importance of free and fair trade in helping our economies bounce back stronger from the global pandemic, including looking for a greener, more sustainable path to long term growth and prosperity. To this end, Ministers looked forward to further collaboration at COP26 and the upcoming MC12.

Ministers welcomed the modernisation roadmap agreed at the recent Association Council. This will further enhance the thriving trading relationship between Chile and the United Kingdom. They committed to continuing to remove barriers to increased trade and further reduce red tape to help business better utilise our existing trade agreement.

To this end, they agreed to extend the use of digital certificates for exporters from UK to Chile and Chile to UK. This will save business time and money. They tasked officials to explore further ways of using technology to reduce business burdens, including fresh initiatives in digitisation and certification to be presented to the next UK-Chile Association Committee.

Ministers commended our aligned approach to using trade data effectively and requested that a formal commitment to facilitate deeper data exchange be prepared ahead of the next Association Committee. This will support our joint efforts to maximise the impact of our trade agreement and support its greater use by business.

Minister Mordaunt welcomed the approval by Chilean authorities of 16 Export Health Certificates to UK companies wishing to export agricultural products to Chile. The UK will be the first European country able to enter some of these markets, especially in relation to genetic material. This will provide opportunity to companies across all regions of the UK, supporting our world leading agricultural and science sectors.

Ministers highlighted the importance to the UK and Chile of continuing to develop our trade relationship to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive world. Ministers agreed that ensuring the speed of the AA Chile-UK modernisation roadmap was important to maintain and enhance bilateral trade.

In this context, Ministers asked that the ad hoc modernisation working group, agreed at the Association Council, meet in early 2022 to develop a timeline for the planned bilateral work on investment, and explore future opportunities in services trade. Ministers reiterated the importance of upholding gender equality and promoting the role of women in trade.

Ministers welcomed Chile and the UK’s ambitions to be leaders in the new global economy. They agreed to work together to develop the UK and Chile’s positions as world leaders in digital economy and financial services, and to deepen co-operation in health and in green technologies.

Minister Mordaunt welcomed Chile’s role as an original member of CPTPP and looked forward to working together to continue to promote rules based international trading systems that drive innovation and spread prosperity.

A week away from COP26, Ministers endorsed the need to reflect global climate priorities in the bilateral relationship. They emphasised the role of trade in addressing the challenges of climate change and agreed to discuss how the UK and Chile could further enhance trade and investment on green energy, particularly on green hydrogen.

Finally, Ministers highlighted the deep and longstanding trading relationship between our two proud nations, and their joint desire for this to be strengthened in the future. The first fruits of this should be measures to enhance and modernise our relationship in goods, digital economy and financial services, to create new opportunities for business. The Association Committee will assess progress on these measures in 2022.