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U.S. Ambassador O'Leary confident of U.S.-Chilean diplomatic relations for 2000
Furthermore, the United States is Chile's principal trading partner and investor.
According to U.S. Ambassador to Chile John O'Leary, "bilateral relations between the Republic of Chile and the United States have never been better - politically, economically, commercially, and culturally. Not since 1823, in the days of Bernardo O'Higgins and James Monroe when our two republics first established diplomatic relations, have those relations been as close or as fruitful as they are now as we begin the new millennium." He is confident that this relationship will continue to prosper with President Ricardo Lagos' government.
Ambassador O'Leary, arrived in Santiago on July 29, 1998 at a time when Chile was beginning to look at trade possibilities and leaving behind the bitter taste provided by not being able to join the North American Fair Trade Agreement because of U.S. internal politics. He points to major events that took place around the time of his arrival. "One was the Summit of the Americas where all the political democratic governments of the Americas launched the proposal for the Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005. The second is that on August of last year Chile came up with a proposal for a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. The key thing to note is that after the NAFTA attempt failed, Chile did bilateral trade agreements with both Mexico and Canada," explains the Yale-graduate attorney, who believes that this proposal was significantly moving forward, but the World Trade Organization's situation shifted the attention toward China. Consequently, the alliance was postponed.
Still, some accomplishments were fulfilled by the joint efforts of the two nations. Among these, Ambassador O'Leary points out the Open Skies Agreement, which was signed last October and is the United States' first one in Latin America. Another is the bilateral Social Security accord that will benefit those citizens working in both countries. Also, the nations are pushing forth the final agreement on the double taxation treaty that would ease tax burdens from both nations.
In other matters, Chile and the United States have established bilateral mechanisms that enable mediation of trade and investment disputes and promote the integration of electronic commerce in their business relations. Being a lawyer, the ambassador is very optimistic about Chile's reform to the criminal justice system, which would make it more compatible with the U.S. judicial system.
For John O'Leary, Chile is a great trading partner that offers an excellent scenario for investment. This is shown by the amount of U.S. capital invested therein - nearly $12 billion. He believes that now, with upcoming U.S. government elections, is not the right time for establishing negotiations on bilateral trade agreements. In the meantime, Chile and the United States need to work together to develop and solidify their economic, political and social relations.
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Table of Contents New president focuses on future while reconciling the past |
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In recent years, globalization has been penetrating into the foundations of every nation, transforming ways of life, the manner in which governments run countries and people do business. Chile, as well as the United States, is surrounded by this constantly evolving environment. Yet one thing is certain, both countries are committed to economic growth through open markets and promoting good trading practices.