[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S9403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]







  LEGISLATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE UNITED STATES-

                   CHILE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT--PM 45



  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 

from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 

report; which was referred to the Committee on Finance:



To the Congress of the United States:

  I am pleased to transmit legislation and supporting documents to 

implement the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The 

Agreement will further open Chile's markets for U.S. manufactured 

goods, agricultural products, services, and investors. It will increase 

competition and consumer choice. The FTA will enhance prosperity in the 

United States and Chile, serve the interest of expanding U.S. commerce, 

and advance our overall national interest.

  The U.S.-Chile FTA is the first United States free trade agreement 

with a South American country. We hope the FTA will add momentum to 

Chile's continued implementation of the free market economic policies 

that have made Chile a model for its Latin American neighbors. This 

Agreement will also encourage other countries in the Western Hemisphere 

to follow Chile's path, furthering our efforts to establish a Free 

Trade Area of the Americas.

  My Administration is strongly committed to securing a level playing 

field for America's workers, farmers, and businesses. The Congress 

helped advance that policy by passing Trade Promotion Authority in the 

Trade Act of 2002 (the ``Trade Act''). The Congress can help us take 

another important step by approving this Agreement and the implementing 

legislation. United States workers and businesses are currently at a 

competitive disadvantage in the Chilean market. Chile is an associate 

member in Mercosur and has FTAs with many other countries, including 

Canada, Mexico, and the 15 members of the European Union. Securing an 

FTA with Chile will ensure that U.S. workers and businesses will 

receive treatment in the Chilean market that is as good as or better 

than their competitors.

  In negotiating this FTA, my Administration was guided by the 

negotiating objectives set out in the Trade Act. More than 85 percent 

of trade in consumer and industrial goods between the United States and 

Chile will be free of duties immediately upon implementation, and most 

remaining tariffs on U.S. exports to Chile will be eliminated within 4 

years after that. More than three-quarters of U.S. farm goods will 

enter Chile duty free within 4 years and all duties on such goods will 

be phased out over 12 years. At the same time, the Agreement includes 

measures to ensure that U.S. firms and farmers have an opportunity to 

adjust to imports from Chile.



  This Agreement opens opportunities for our services businesses, which 

now account for nearly 65 percent of our gross domestic product and 

more than 80 percent of employment in the United States. Chile will 

grant substantial market access to U.S. firms across nearly the entire 

spectrum of services, including banking, insurance, securities and 

related financial services, express delivery services, professional 

services, and telecommunications.

  This Agreement provides for state-of-the-art intellectual property 

protection and recognizes the importance of trade in the digital age by 

including significant commitments on trade in digital products. In 

addition, it ensures that electronic commerce will stay free of duties 

and discriminatory rules.

  United States citizens and businesses that invest in Chile will have 

significant increased protections. This Agreement promotes rule of law 

and enhances transparency and openness in order to foster a more secure 

environment for trade and investment. Furthermore, Chile will provide 

U.S. investors with important substantive protections that Chilean 

investors already enjoy in the United States.

  The United States and Chile have also agreed to cooperate on 

environment and labor issues and to establish mechanisms to support 

those efforts. A number of important cooperative projects that will 

promote environmental protection are identified for future work. The 

FTA encourages the adoption of high labor and environmental standards, 

obligates each country to enforce its own labor and environmental laws, 

and makes clear that domestic labor and environmental protections may 

not be reduced in order to encourage trade or investment. The Agreement 

also preserves our right to pursue other legitimate domestic 

objectives, including the protection of health and safety, consumer 

interests, and national security.

  Trade and openness contribute to development, the rule of law, 

economic growth, and international cooperation. Chile is a close 

partner of the United States, and this Agreement will strengthen those 

ties.

  With the approval of this Agreement and passage of the implementing 

legislation by the Congress, we will advance U.S. economic and 

political interests, while encouraging others to work with us to expand 

free trade around the world.

                                                      George W. Bush.  

The White House, July 15, 2003.



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