    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [July 15, 2003]
    [Pages 873-875]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation To Implement
    the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement
    July 15, 2003

    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,

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    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.

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        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.