March 4, 2003

Reconciling Trade and Environment: The Approach of the US-Chile Free Trade Agreement

On December 11, 2002, the United States and Chile completed negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries. The agreement is expected to be submitted to the Congresses of each country for approval this year. It will be the first comprehensive agreement between the US and a South American country, and is expected to pave the way for completion of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005 as well as other global trade negotiations.

The Environment Law Institute and the DC Bar Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section co-sponsored a seminar on March 4, 2003 to discuss this historic agreement. Following the keynote address by Andrés Bianchi (Ambassador of Chile to the United States) was a discussion and Q&A period with a panel of experts. The panel included John O’Leary, (President, The Chilean American Chamber of Commerce and Former Ambassador of the United States to Chile), Jake Caldwell (Program Director Trade and Environment, National Wildlife Federation) and Regina Vargo (Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Americas). Issues discussed included innovative measures in the agreement for protecting the environment as well as related provisions on enforcement and dispute resolution.