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1.17.   In April 2022, the Government launched the programme Chile Apoya (Chile Supports) to support individuals, boost job creation and address the rise in the cost of living. (...) The measures introduced included an infrastructure fund for local governments, with a total of USD 300 million earmarked for new labour-intensive and green investment projects carried out by municipalities, regional governments and public services. (...)

1.18.   The Financial Strategy on Climate Change, which was updated in March 2022, seeks to promote "green" financing, enhance this greened system and position Chile as a regional and global leader in green finance. The strategy is based on the development of the following three areas of action: (i) "greening" the system through the generation of information; (ii) promoting green financing; and (iii) enhancing this greened system and positioning Chile as a regional and global leader in green finance. To green the system through the generation of information, the strategy proposes to: (a) lay the foundations for the development of an environmentally sustainable activity classification system; (b) develop a framework for determining public and private climate change expenditure; and (c) promote the development of a metric that values national natural capital, taking into consideration ecosystems and ecosystem services in the context of economic and financial measures for public and private use. In May 2022, the Preparatory Committee of the Environmentally Sustainable Activity Classification System (Green Taxonomy) began to hold meetings, led by the Ministry of Finance. The Committee's objective is to examine and discuss certain structural elements required for the future development of a national Green Taxonomy, in order to create the information necessary for the alignment of financial flows towards a carbon neutral economy and sustainable development. Regarding the measurement of natural capital, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment have taken the lead in measuring the value of ecosystem services and integrating it into national accounts. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance has proposed to continue to promote, develop and fine-tune green financial instruments and solutions, such as the issuance of thematic sovereign bonds and carbon pricing instruments(...)

2.10.   Chilean foreign trade policy (...) also sets out seven priority action areas closely related to trade, including the following: Latin American integration; (...); environmental protection; and the adoption of a participatory, inclusive and fair foreign trade strategy that promotes sustainable economic development and is mindful of its own environmental impact (...)

2.15.   During the period under review, Chile made an active contribution to WTO discussions and initiatives. (...) It also co-sponsored the Statement on Trade and Environmental Sustainability and took part in discussions on plastic pollution and reforms to fossil fuel subsidies. (...)

2.16.   At the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva in June 2022, Chile stated that the rules-based multilateral trading system faced a variety of complex challenges requiring the Organization to transform in order to ensure its relevance. With this in mind, Chile attaches priority to working towards a more inclusive and sustainable multilateral trade agenda that, on the one hand, can incorporate those actors that have not benefited from international trade and, on the other hand, promotes international trade conducted in harmony with the environment, while serving as a tool for productive development. (...)

2.18. (...) Chile has various types of agreement in place[33], with recent moves towards more innovative initiatives focusing on up to the minute issues such as digital markets, e-commerce, regional and global value chains, the environment, gender, and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). (...)
[33] These are as follows: (…) (iv) economic association agreements, which go beyond the opening of markets for goods and services to include provisions on other topics such as the environment, labour regulations or SMEs.

2.20.   Since its last review in 2015, Chile has undertaken a process to deepen its trade relations with the countries of MERCOSUR, of which it has been an associate member since 1996 pursuant to Economic Complementarity Agreement (ECA) No. 35. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Chile and Uruguay (ECA No. 73) entered into force in 2018. The Chile-Argentina FTA entered into force in 2019 and the Chile-Brazil FTA in 2022. These new FTAs complement ECA No. 35 since they include aspects not hitherto covered such as cross-border trade in services, e-commerce, competition policy, trade and gender, SMEs, and trade and the environment. (...)

2.21.   May 2022 saw the entry into force of the Trade Integration Agreement between Chile and Ecuador (ECA No. 75), superseding ECA No. 65 and broadening the tariff concessions contained therein, as well as incorporating disciplines on, inter alia, services, e-commerce, telecommunications, labour matters, the environment, gender and SMEs.

2.24.   (...) 2019 also saw the entry into force of the Protocol Upgrading the China-Chile FTA, which includes improvements in the areas of market access, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade in services, while also incorporating new chapters on trade facilitation, e-commerce and the environment. (...)

2.25.   (...) The CPTPP[the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership], in addition to liberalizing trade in goods and services, sets standards in areas such as customs, services, investment, competition, intellectual property, government procurement, e-commerce, state-owned enterprises, the environment and labour matters. (...)