THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
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For Immediate Release
November 29, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
The United States of America (USA) and Chile have agreed to start
negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The
FTA will build on the progress that has been made by the U.S.-Chile Joint
Commission on Trade and Investment that was established during President
Clinton?s state visit to Chile in April 1998.
This endeavor reflects our mutual commitment to advancing free and
open trade and investment in the Americas and around the world.
The USA and Chile are both strong supporters of the Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA) negotiations. The negotiation of a bilateral free
trade agreement between us will provide further impetus for the FTAA
negotiations.
The United States and Chile reaffirm their strong commitment to the
multilateral trading system and the launch of a New Round in 2001.
The FTA will include labor and environmental provisions along the
lines of the U.S.-Jordan FTA.
I have directed Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky to assign a high
priority to advancing negotiations for an FTA.
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