Pacific Alliance Merges Asian-Facing Latin Markets
The presidents of four of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies came together in northern Chile to inaugurate the Pacific Alliance, an economic bloc encompassing Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
The presidents of four of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies came together today in the northern Chilean town of Antofagasta to inaugurate the Pacific Alliance, an economic bloc encompassing Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. The heads of the open-market economies have agreed to begin bringing together their economies in what Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos described as “one of the most significant processes towards integrations that have taken place in Latin America.”
The group of Pacific countries hopes to coordinate commercial activities and economic policy to give them better access to Asian trade and investment. As part of this Chile, Colombia, and Peru have started integrating their stock markets into a unified bourse known as MILA. Panama and Costa Rica currently have observer status in the Pacific Alliance and hope to eventually join.
President Santos went on to say that:
| “Our four founding countries represent a very significant portion of trade [in Latin America]—more than 50 percent, and more than 38 percent of foreign investment goes to our countries. Our combined GDPs represent slightly over a third of Latin America’s, and, above all, show a potential for enormous growth.” |
Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera expanded on what the integration will actually mean:
| "This is much more than a free-trade agreement, this is an agreement of deep and broad integration that involves the exchange of goods, services, investments, people, and at the same time is committed towards physical, infrastructure, and energy integration.” |