Clinton announces free-trade talks with Chile

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- In what may be his final trade initiative in office, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced on Wednesday the launch of free-trade negotiations with Chile, hoping to expand commercial ties between the two nations and North and South America.

U.S. trade officials said the proposed market-opening pact would phase out tariffs and other commercial barriers between the United States and Chile, and incorporate controversial provisions aimed at protecting workers' rights and the environment in both countries.

"This endeavor reflects our mutual commitment to advancing free and open trade and investment in the Americas and around the world," Clinton said in a statement.

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos hailed the proposed pact and said his trade team would "receive instructions to conclude (negotiations) quickly."

But U.S. officials said talks were likely to drag on beyond January 20, when Clinton leaves office, putting the onus on the next administration to finalize the deal.

Clinton has made free trade a top priority, ushering in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and striking landmark trade accords with Vietnam and China. Earlier this year, Clinton announced a free-trade deal with Jordan, and launched similar negotiations with Singapore.

Santiago has been pushing for a free-trade pact with Washington for years. It already has free-trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, which are partners with the United States in NAFTA.

Officials said U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky was expected to meet with Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Soledad Alvear mid-December in Washington, with follow-up talks in Santiago in January.

Clinton administration officials said they were confident the next president -- whether it's Republican George W. Bush or Democrat Al Gore -- would complete the Chile pact, and steer it through Congress. But Democrat-backed provisions protecting workers and the environment could face stiff opposition in a Bush White House.

In his statement, Clinton urged Barshefsky to "assign a high priority to advancing negotiations" with Chile, arguing that the pact should "provide further impetus" to forging a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The proposed FTAA would expand NAFTA to include all the countries of the hemisphere except for Cuba. U.S. trade officials hope negotiations on that pact would be completed by 2005, if not sooner.

Chilean officials said staff-level talks with the United States could get under way next week before Barshefsky and Alvear meet.

"The negotiating team is ready to start this task," President Lagos said during a stop in San Jose, Calif., where he was on tour drumming up high-tech investment from Silicon Valley.

Lagos arrived in California on Tuesday evening after a quick trip to Washington state, where he meet Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and secured pledges of $6.2 million in grants to aid technological development in his country.

In California, he secured a similar deal with Oracle Corp. to design and develop an online business initiative being launched by ENTEL Chile, a telecommunications company.

On Wednesday, he met Cisco President and CEO John Chambers and signed an agreement on technological cooperation for educational initiatives. He was also slated to meet corporate leaders from Global Crossing Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Documents reveal U.S. funding for Chile coup
November 13, 2000
Chile swears in new president
March 11, 2000
Human rights report blasts Colombia, Cuba - praises Chile
December 9, 1999
In Chile, Clinton seeks patience on free trade
April 16, 1998

Presidencia de la Republica de Chile
Spotlight on Chile Derechos Chile (in English)

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.