[Ip-health] American Enterprise Institute Event on US-Chile FTA

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1323,filter.all,type.upcoming/event_detai=
l.asp

U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement: Building on Success

Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

The importance of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), enacted on
January 1, 2004, is often overshadowed by both the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America=96United States=96Dominican
Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Nevertheless, the U.S.-Chile
FTA offers valuable lessons about the impact of bilateral trade
agreements and highlights the fact that countries benefit more when
top-down reductions in trade barriers are complemented by bottom-up reforms=
.

Two years into the U.S.-Chile FTA, Chile has demonstrated its success in
helping businesses identify and resolve indigenous barriers to trade, as
well as in increasing productivity. But despite its success, the country
continues to fall short in certain areas, most notably in harmonizing
intellectual property rights to American standards and helping small and
medium enterprises participate in this process. How can a country like
Chile=97with a population of 16 million and a GDP just one-hundredth that
of the United States=97be competitive in the American market against China
and other Latin American nations? Which public and private efforts have
been particularly successful in Chile, and how? In what areas can Chile
continue to improve its competitiveness? And, most importantly, does
Chile provide any best-practice examples that can be replicated elsewhere?

These and other questions will be the focus of a panel discussion
moderated by AEI visiting fellow Roger F. Noriega. Professor Boris
Kozolchyk and Ambassador Estaban Tomic' will discuss their joint venture
to establish the Law Center for Free Trade Implementation in Santiago,
Chile.

9:00

Panelists:
Boris Kozolchyk, National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade
John Murphy, United States Chamber of Commerce
Rolando Ortega, ProChile
Ambassador Esteban Tomic', permanent representative of Chile to the
Organization of American States

Moderator:
Roger F. Noriega, AEI