Chile redoubles its efforts to open up to foreign countries in the face of protectionism

The Deputy Minister of Commerce of Chile, Paulina Nazal, said today that her country is willing to redouble its efforts to open trade abroad "in the face of protectionist trends" that are gaining strength in some economies.

Danang (Vietnam), Nov. 10 (EFE) .- Chile's Vice Minister of Commerce, Paulina Nazal, said today that her country is willing to step up its efforts to open up trade abroad ". to the protectionist currents "that are gaining strength in some economies.

In an interview with Efe in Danang (Vietnam), where the Summit of the Forum of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Nazal assured that opening and commercial integration are for Chile "the only way to continue growing and developing".

Nazal He highlighted the role of Pro Chile, the state export promotion agency, to support Chilean exporters, especially small and medium-sized companies.

Also, he stressed the role of this agency in helping them take advantage of the opportunities that are opened with the signing of free trade agreements or with statements such as the one negotiated these days in the APEC.

This forum is formed, in addition to Chile, by Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, South Korea, the United States, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.

Nazal stressed Chile's support for APEC and a multilateral trading system "with clear rules", one of the major pitfalls for the final declaration that the leaders of the 21 APEC economies plan to announce this Saturday.

"We are discussing the language in a statement that include this subject United "is trying to change the focus" on trade since the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House and that makes the agreement difficult.

"We have to reach a consensus that leaves us happy everyone, including the USA. He showed optimism to reach consensus before the end of the summit.

"Agreeing to 21 economies has never been easy and will not be, but most of the time we have come to a statement that leaves us all happy, "he stressed.

Nazal was pleased by the progress made so far to bet on inclusive growth" that reaches everyone the sectors of the economy "and especially" young people, women and small and medium-sized enterprises ".

Another of the key points of the summit is the" Objectives of Bogor "approved in 1994 to achieve a free trade and investment zone between member economies in 2020 by reducing tariffs and promoting the free movement of goods, services and capitals.

This point is of special interest to Chile, which in 2019 will host the APEC summit, the last one before the date marked in Bogor.

"For Chile it is very important that working group that sees the vision of the forum from 2020 onwards. He also referred to the possible signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) between eleven of the countries present in APEC (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) and already without the US, which left the group in January, following the investiture of Trump.

The Chilean Deputy Minister of Commerce said that there are "expectations" for an announcement about the TPP and that the negotiations are in the final stage.

"It always costs, but Chile continues to work hard, with flexibility, to try to achieve a result", He said.