Pacific Alliance hosts Free Trade Commission meeting

The member countries of the Pacific Alliance held the ninth meeting of the bloc’s Free Trade Commission, during which they approved two regulatory instruments and agreed on a joint strategy to advance pending regulatory cooperation efforts.

The session was chaired by Luis Rosendo Gutierrez Romano, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, representing Mexico’s Pro Tempore Presidency; also participating were Paula Estevez Weinstein, Chile’s Undersecretary of International Economic Relations; Sofia Carolina Cañon Valbuena, Colombia’s Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry, and Tourism; and Cesar Augusto Llona Silva, Peru’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade.

The delegations agreed to promote a coordinated strategy, with follow-up by the National Trade Coordinators, to finalize the pending regulatory cooperation annexes and establish a roadmap for their implementation. The Commission also recognized the importance of maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the Pacific Alliance Business Council to incorporate the private sector’s perspective into regional integration processes.

The bloc, comprising Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, represents the world’s seventh-largest economy and the fourth-largest global export power, according to 2024 figures. Within Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, the Alliance accounts for 42.8% of regional gross domestic product, generates 57.4% of total trade, and attracts 41.6% of foreign direct investment flows.