The member states of the Pacific Alliance (i.e., Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) during their February 10, 2014 meeting in Cartagena, Colombia agreed to further economic integration measures. The members aim to eliminate import duty tariffs on 92 percent of their trade within the next 12 months. The Pacific Alliance accounts for roughly 36 percent of Latin America’s gross domestic product and around 50 percent of the region’s exports. FAS Lima does not anticipate that tariff reduction among the Pacific Alliance membership will negatively affect U.S.-origin food and agricultural exports. We do however foresee the Pacific Alliance potentially eclipsing other Latin American regional free trade agreements in the not too distant future.
