The Ministry of Economy of Mexico took stock of the negotiations and agreements of the Pacific Alliance (PA), made up of Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru.
First and foremost, on January 26, 2022, within the framework of the Pacific Alliance Summit held in Bahía Málaga, Colombia, the heads of the Ministries of Trade of the PA and Singapore signed the Free Trade Agreement between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore.
This agreement represents the first commercial instrument of this category signed by the PA, which once in force by all signatories, will have Singapore as the first Associated State.
In order to implement the extended cumulation mechanism between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore, established in the trade agreement signed between both Parties, during the first half of 2022 several meetings have been held at a technical level, culminating the negotiation of the Verification Agreement between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore on August 4, giving way to the corresponding legal review for its formalization by the heads of the Ministries of Trade.
This agreement will make it possible to corroborate the origin of goods in the event of a request from the customs authorities, seeking to maintain preferential treatment for goods originating in the Parties.
Likewise, on December 20, 2021, a virtual meeting was held between the heads of the Ministries of Trade of the PA and Australia, in order to analyze the positions of both parties regarding the proposal of the PA to resume negotiations and the response presented by Australia.
In the absence of consensus, it was agreed to suspend negotiations during the first half of 2022, to resume talks as of July of that year and consider moving forward in resuming negotiations.
Pacific Alliance
On March 28, 2022, a virtual meeting was held between the Chief Negotiators of the PA and New Zealand, in which New Zealand formally presented its response to the PA proposal to resume negotiations.
However, since the positions of both parties did not coincide, it was agreed to return to internal consultations on the part of New Zealand to resume communications once New Zealand’s position was known.
Finally, on June 23, 2022, during the meeting of the High Level Group (HLG), the Vice Ministers of Trade of the Pacific Alliance and South Korea announced the start of the negotiation process between both parties, in response to the commitment established by the presidents of the PA in the Declaration of Bahía Málaga-Buenaventura, signed on January 26, 2022.
