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The Pacific Alliance is a dynamic Latin American free trade area and economic integration initiative established by Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru in 2011.
The bloc is the world’s eighth-largest economy and home to over 220 million people, and growing.
New Zealand has a long-standing relationship with the Alliance and each of its members.
We were one of the first to become an Observer in 2012, and are now among the first group of countries to pursue Associate Membership of the Alliance.
As part of this, we are negotiating a free trade agreement with the Alliance.
Two-way trade with the Alliance is modest, but New Zealand sees considerable scope to expand this.
In 2016, New Zealand exported $722 million worth of goods and services to the Pacific Alliance region.
Dairy products are New Zealand's largest goods export, but services exports such as tourism and education are also growing.
Imports from Alliance countries totalled $455 million.
Objectives
A Pacific Alliance trade agreement would deliver on a number of New Zealand objectives:
- Establish New Zealand’s first free trade agreement with Colombia and further reduce barriers that impact exports to Chile, Mexico and Peru. Some sectors, particularly agriculture, are highly protected in the Pacific Alliance. We want to eliminate tariffs, provide better access for services trade, and create a level playing field for New Zealand business in Alliance markets.
- Participate in shaping an important Latin American initiative that will promote trade and economic integration in the Asia Pacific, securing New Zealand’s place within it.
- Work with partner countries to demonstrate our shared commitment to progressive free trade and the rules-based international system.
- Deepen our relationships and New Zealand’s profile in Latin America, including by becoming an Associate Member of the Pacific Alliance (which first requires conclusion of a free trade agreement).
Contact
If you have any other questions about the negotiations, contact us at: PacificAllianceFTA@mfat.govt.nz