D I P L O M AT I C A| TRADE PACTS
10 years on, the Pacific Alliance is still going strong By Jorge Alberto Julian Londono de la Cuesta, Raul Eduardo Fernandez Daza, Juan Jose Ignacio Gomez Camacho and Roberto Rafael Max Rodriguez Arnilla
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In April 2011, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru signed the Declaration of Lima, establishing a new integration scheme to achieve the free transit of goods, services, capital and people and promote the greater growth, development and competitiveness of their economies.
ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation with accelerator agency networks, investors, innovation and technology, which has made it possible to unite the business community and develop innovation in member countries. Likewise, the Pacific Alliance Cooperation Fund has been established, with US $1 million available to finance projects in various areas. For the four member countries of the alliance, it is clear that deepening integra-
tion requires generating incentives for the creation of new ventures, especially in activities that are intensive in human capital. In this sense, the Pacific Alliance seeks to be a portal for the knowledge economy and a landing strip for future technological ventures in Latin America. For this reason, and with a view to what the economy and trade of the future will be like, during the last summit in Santiago de Chile, the countries’ presidents signed a declaration FALL 2021 | OCT-NOV-DEC
TWIITER
olombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru — sister nations united by history, a common language and the vast Pacific Ocean — signed the “Declaration of Lima” on April 28, 2011, establishing a new integration scheme to achieve the free transit of goods, services, capital and people; promote greater growth, development and competitiveness of their economies; and become connected to the rest of the world, especially the Asia Pacific. Today, 10 years after its creation, the Pacific Alliance is the regional integration mechanism that has accomplished the most achievements in the shortest amount of time, establishing a flexible and pragmatic integration space with a view towards deep integration, representing the eighth largest world economy, 41 per cent of Latin America’s GDP and 40 per cent of foreign direct investment in the region. When the agreement came into force, 92 per cent of the goods imported and exported between the four countries had duty-free tariffs, which has contributed to productive supply chains in the region, allowing each member of the alliance to access supplies from the other three countries. Similarly, export, investment and tourism promotion activities have generated nearly US $1 billion in business opportunities. This would not have been possible without initiatives aimed at facilitating trade, such as the interoperability of the foreign trade single windows, which save costs, time and facilitate business development among entrepreneurs by allowing them to process their certificates digitally. For SMEs, the Pacific Alliance has established an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation made up of networks of innovation agencies, investors, business accelerators and technology transfer offices, which has made it possible to unite the business community and develop innovation in member countries. For SMEs, initiatives such as the entrepreneurial capital fund stand out. It has given startups financial support to grow and go global while establishing an
