Chamber Joins in Launch of U.S.-Chile Free Trade Coalition

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce today joined in the launch of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Coalition, a broad-based group of U.S. companies and business organizations seeking congressional approval of the recently completed U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement.

The coalition formally launched its advocacy campaign in a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol featuring U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and congressional leaders.

"The U.S. needs additional trade agreements to create new possibilities for businesses and workers," said U.S. Chamber Vice President for Western Hemisphere Affairs John Murphy. "The agreement with Chile promises to slash trade barriers, protect investors and intellectual property, and raise the bar for the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations."

"We are also looking forward to the release of the text of the agreement," added Murphy. "This appears to be a state-of-the-art agreement, but as always, we want to review the details."

While trade between the U.S. and Chile surpassed $6 billion in 2001, U.S. market share dropped from 24 percent of all Chilean imports five years ago to just 18 percent in 2001. AmCham Chile, the U.S. Chamber's Santiago-based affiliate, estimates that U.S. companies lose over $300 million in business annually to exporters based in countries such as Canada and Mexico, which already have their own free trade agreements with Chile.

The U.S. Chamber is among the leaders of the quickly growing U.S.-Chile Free Trade Coalition. More than 200 companies and business organizations have joined the coalition in the weeks since negotiations for the agreement were completed Dec. 11.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

# # #

03-11