Chile hopes to bridge Asia and S. America<\/p>\n
By Paul Iredale<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Reuter): Chile served notice this past week it
\nplanned to be a power in the rich Asia-Pacific trading zone,
\nrolling into town to join the group with a crisp roadshow and a
\nlarge team of businessmen.<\/p>\n
The high profile of the \"new kid on the block\" contrasted
\nsharply with that of Mexico, until last week the only Latin
\nmember of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum,
\nwhich has decided to create the world's biggest free trade zone
\nby 2020.<\/p>\n
While Chilean President Eduardo Frei held a lunch with
\nIndonesian businessmen and led a delegation of 160 people,
\nMexican President Carlos Salinas made a shorter and altogether
\nquieter visit.<\/p>\n
\"We want to actively participate in building a new era of
\ntranspacific cooperation, to be important actors in the changes
\ntaking place in the region and to help to create a true Pacific
\ncommunity,\" Frei told the Indonesian chamber of commerce and
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"This is our political will and we will act accordingly.\"
\nMexico clearly has a different political agenda at the moment
\nfrom its \"compadre\" to the south.<\/p>\n
The Mexican government is about to undergo its six-yearly
\nshake-up as a new president takes office and jobs are changed
\nthrough to the widest reaches of the administration.<\/p>\n
Salinas himself, barred by the constitution from re-election,
\nis looking for new work as the director of the World Trade
\nOrganization, which takes over from the General Agreement on
\nTariffs and Trade (GATT) next year.<\/p>\n
While he did not raise his WTO candidacy at the APEC summit,
\nhis participation underlined what he sees as his global
\ncredentials for the job.<\/p>\n
Chile's entry as the 18th member of APEC, a group responsible
\nfor half the world's trade, is its latest success in the march
\nback onto the world's stage.<\/p>\n
Shunned internationally for decades under military strongman
\nAugusto Pinochet, Chile has since its return to democracy in
\nMarch 1990 worked assiduously to produce a web of trade links
\nthrough Latin America, Europe and the Pacific.<\/p>\n
Frei, making his first Asian visit since becoming president in
\nMarch, talked of \"the viability of my country as a country that
\ncan become a bridge between Asia and South America, and as a
\ntrustworthy partner for the Asian community's interests in our
\nhemisphere.\"<\/p>\n
Chile's economic record is impressive. It boasts average
\nannual growth of 6.3 percent over the past four years, is fifth
\namong emerging economies in global competitiveness, and has the
\nhighest country-risk rating in Latin America.<\/p>\n
This compares with economic growth of 2.8 percent in Mexico in
\n1992, and 0.4 percent last year.<\/p>\n
But Mexico has one great advantage that still eludes Chile --
\na trade deal with the United States.<\/p>\n
Chile has been offered negotiations on entry to the North
\nAmerican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Mexico, the United
\nStates and Canada launched at the beginning of this year, but it
\nis still waiting to begin talks.<\/p>\n
For Chile, which already sends 32 percent of its exports to
\nAsia, free access to the Asian market is arguably more
\nsignificant than it might be for Mexico, which sends 86 percent
\nof its exports and receives 72.9 percent of its imports from
\nwithin NAFTA.<\/p>\n
Other Latin nations are waiting in the wings for the hold-down
\non new membership of APEC to expire.<\/p>\n
Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador have all expressed an interest
\nin joining APEC.<\/p>\n
And Peru, which like Chile conducts 31 percent of its trade
\nwith Asia, is already talking to the group about taking part in
\nits working groups.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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