The Treasurer’s Guide to Trade Finance

Chile

Economic and trade overview

Key figures

Economy 2011 Trade 2011 (USD billion)

GDP (USD) 249 bn Goods Exports 81

GDP per capita (USD) 14,394 Imports 71

GDP volume growth (year-on-year) + 6.0% Net + 11

Population 17.27 m Services Exports 12

MMR (year average) 4.67% Imports 15

Exchange rate CLP / USD (year average) 483.67 Net – 2

BoP (goods, services & income) as % of GDP – 2.3% Source: IFS, IMF, January 2013

International/Regional memberships

Mercado Común del Sur / Southern Cone
Common Market (Mercosur):
associate member since 1 October 1996.

Comunidad Andina / Andean Community of
Nations (CAN): associate member since
20 September 2006.

International Monetary Fund:
since 14 January 1946.

World Trade Organization:
since 1 January 1995.

Government trade policy

ƒ Chile implements open and competitive trade
practices oriented towards free trade and the
promotion of its exports (www.direcon.cl).

ƒ As an associate member of Mercosur,
Chile aims to eliminate tariffs with Mercosur
member states (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,
Uruguay and Venezuela) by 2014.

ƒ Chile also has in place bilateral economic
complementation agreements with several

countries, including Argentina, Bolivia,

Ecuador and Venezuela, as well as free trade

agreements with Colombia, Peru, EFTA (the

European Free Trade Association), China,

South Korea, Malaysia, Turkey, Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,

countries in NAFTA (the North American

Free Trade Agreement), Japan, Panama,

and Australia. It has additional agreements

with the EU, P-4 (New Zealand, Singapore

and Brunei Darussalam), Cuba and India. It

has also signed free trade agreements with

Vietnam and Hong Kong, but the agreements

have not come into force yet.

ƒ National export credit insurance provider:

Corporación de Fomento de la Producción

(Corfo — http://www.corfo.cl).

ƒ Corfo operates Chile’s state-supported export

credit programme. ProChile (www.prochile.cl)

is Chile’s official export promotion agency.

ƒ Chile maintains free trade zones in Iquique

and Punta Arenas.

Currency and exchange controls

Official currency: Chilean peso (CLP).

Exchange rate arrangement: free floating.
Chile abolished foreign exchange controls in
2001, though restrictions on some cross-border
transactions and foreign investments by commercial
banks and institutional investors remain.

ƒ Export proceeds are not required to be
repatriated or surrendered, but profit
remittances must be settled either annually
or quarterly.

ƒ Individuals importing or exporting over

the equivalent of USD 10,000 in cash are

required to notify customs (www.aduana.cl).

ƒ Chile requires capital transactions effected

by residents in foreign currency, CLP-

denominated foreign credit transactions

(but payable in foreign currency), and

import/export-related payments equal to or

exceeding USD 50 million per year to be

reported to the central bank.