[14252]
December 18, 2001
TO: INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE No. 67-01
RE: FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY CONCERNS REGARDING US-CHILE FREE
TRADE AGREEMENT
In December 2000, US began negotiations for a US-Chile bilateral free trade agreement
(FTA). The US negotiators had hoped to reach an agreement by end of this year, but many
issues remain unresolved. The Institute through a coalition of financial services industries
recently conveyed its concerns regarding the negotiations for an agreement. Attached for your
information is a letter submitted by the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) outlining several
outstanding issues in financial services for the US-Chile FTA.
In the CSI letter, the Institute described specific concerns with respect to asset
management. The two areas in which the Institute remains concerned that the agreement may
fall short include the lack of (1) commitments from Chile to allow US firms to provide asset
management services on a cross-border basis or at least to permit a locally established affiliate
of a US firm to delegate certain functions to its parent company or to its affiliates outside Chile
and (2) commitments to eliminate strict asset allocations requirements and prohibitions on
pension funds investing in foreign securities.
The Institute also is working directly with US negotiators to address these issues.
Jennifer S. Choi
Associate Counsel
Attachment
Attachment (in .pdf format)