Joint statement: Tenth Free Trade Commission Meeting - Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement

December 2, 2025

Following the tenth meeting of the Canada–Chile Free Trade Commission, convened in-person in Ottawa and virtually on December 1, 2025, the Director General of Bilateral Economic Affairs, Undersecretariat for International Economic Affairs of Chile, Ricardo Mayer Bornand and the Director General, Trade Negotiations Bureau of Global Affairs Canada, Mary-Catherine Speirs, who served as co-chairs of the Commission’s meeting, agreed on the following statement summarizing the outcomes of the discussions.

1. On the occasion of the 10th meeting of the Canada–Chile Free Trade Commission (FTC), held on December 1, 2025, in Ottawa, we welcomed the opportunity to review the implementation of the Canada–Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) and its parallel agreements on environmental and labour cooperation.
   
   The CCFTA, in force since July 1997, was Canada’s first free trade agreement with a South American country and Chile’s first comprehensive FTA with any country. This year marks 28 years since the CCFTA entered into force, underscoring its role as a cornerstone of economic cooperation and inclusive growth between Canada and Chile.
   
   
2. Twenty-eight years after its entry into force, the Agreement remains a pillar of shared prosperity and innovation. In today’s rapidly evolving global economy, this partnership continues to deliver, bilateral trade has more than tripled since 1997, and investment flows have deepened, driving growth in sectors such as clean energy, digital technologies, and critical minerals. These gains translate into real opportunities for businesses and communities in both countries, reinforcing our commitment to an inclusive and forward-looking trade relationship. Its importance is also marked by Canada as Chile’s largest foreign direct investor.
   
   Looking ahead, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the CCFTA remains a modern and effective instrument that continues to deliver benefits for both countries. We will actively promote the Agreement so that Canadian and Chilean businesses can leverage the opportunities it provides, supporting innovation, sustainability, and inclusive economic growth for years to come. We will place particular emphasis on deepening cooperation in research methodologies to assess the impact of trade agreements, inform diversification strategies, and ensure the participation of SMEs, women-led businesses, and Indigenous Peoples in international trade; the implementation of international guidelines for responsible business conduct, due diligence, and local community participation; promote the participation of Indigenous businesses in international trade; and strengthen collaboration under the Eureka Network in applied R&D, enabling the identification of innovative projects, ensuring that our partnership remains responsive to emerging challenges and well-positioned to capitalize on new opportunities.
   
   
3. The FTC welcomed the report of the 23rd Council Session of the Canada–Chile Commission for Environmental Cooperation (as part of the implementation of the Canada–Chile Agreement on Environmental Cooperation), held virtually on October 9, 2025. At the Council session, Canada and Chile exchanged information and views on their countries’ environmental policies and priorities, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, methane emissions reduction, plastic pollution prevention, and biodiversity conservation. The Parties also reviewed past cooperation and approved the 2025–2026 Work Program, which outlines shared priorities such as clean technologies and/or renewable energy, methane emissions mitigation, shellfish sanitation, migratory bird conservation, and protected areas management.
   
   Following the private session, Canada, Chile, and the Joint Public Advisory Committee co-hosted a public session titled “Community-led Solutions to Climate Challenges in Canada and Chile”, which convened over 40 participants from government, academia, civil society, and the private sector. This event underscored the importance of integrating community perspectives in shaping inclusive and resilient responses to climate change.
   
   Canada commended Chile’s leadership in agreeing to become a Champion of the Global Methane Pledge, which Canada co-convenes with the European Union, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to continue working together on shared environmental priorities. Chile deeply values this initiative and recognizes the importance of addressing methane as a highly impactful greenhouse gas. Chile has made a strong and unwavering commitment to climate action, as reflected in the National Organic Waste Strategy, the Circular Economy Roadmap, and the new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which set ambitious targets to accelerate emission reductions in the waste, agriculture, and energy sectors.
   
   For its part, Chile confirmed the ambitious common agenda and priorities with Canada and recognized the results obtained under the 2025 Work Program. Chile valued Canada's commitment and leadership and reaffirmed its own commitment to the effective implementation of the 2025–2026 Work Program, including climate change mitigation, pollution prevention, and biodiversity conservation, among other priorities.
   
   
4. Likewise, the FTC welcomed the report from the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, which last met on April 10, 2024. Canada highlighted progress on key issues, including recognition of Chile’s zoning system for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and ongoing work on African Swine Fever (ASF) zoning agreements. The Parties also discussed sanitary market access requests, such as the export of poultry meat and genetics from Canada to Chile, the export of poultry by-products and dairy products from Chile to Canada, and the status of the review of the conditions to export fishmeal from Chile to Canada.
   
   Canada and Chile agreed on and emphasized the importance of continued technical cooperation to science-based measures to support trade and food safety. Chile further communicated its interest in establishing appropriate mechanisms for the exchange of technical information in different SPS issues.
   
   Both Parties celebrated the effective joint work between their competent regulatory authorities, reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a constructive dialogue and agreed to continue addressing SPS topics through this vital forum for cooperation.
   
   
5. The FTC received a report from the Committee on Trade in Goods and Rules of Origin, which did not convene formally this past year but maintained active engagement through email exchanges during late summer and fall of 2025. Officials from both Parties worked diligently to conclude technical rectifications to align the Canada–Chile Free Trade Agreement’s product-specific rules of origin (PSROs) with the most recent version of the Harmonized System (HS). These amendments are neutral in intent and aim to reduce friction for businesses by ensuring consistency with global customs standards.
   
   Canada and Chile congratulated officials on reaching working-level agreement. Canada noted that domestic procedures are underway to bring these amendments into force, including legal review, translation, and parliamentary tabling. For Chile, next steps will include a legal review, translation, and mutual confirmation of the finalized translated versions.
   
   Following this, both Parties will proceed with the exchange of notes constituting the agreement. Subsequently, both Parties will formally notify each other that they have completed their respective internal procedures required for the entry into force of the agreement.
   
   
6. The FTC welcomed the report from the Trade and Gender Committee, which last met virtually on August 1^st, 2025. Canada highlighted the significance of the Trade and Gender Chapter, the first of its kind in any Canadian FTA, and reaffirmed its commitment to advancing inclusive trade policies that promote women’s economic empowerment and gender equality. The Parties discussed recent initiatives, including knowledge-exchange sessions, workshops on Gender-based Analysis Plus for trade agreements, and efforts to support SMEs, Indigenous women and other underrepresented groups facing barriers to participation in international trade.
   
   Canada emphasized the alignment of this chapter with Canada’s broader approach to trade diversification and inclusive trade, which seeks to ensure that economic growth benefits all segments of society. Canada welcomed the continued collaboration between both Parties on trade and gender. Canada appreciated Chile’s support and participation during the 8^th CPTPP Commission meeting in Vancouver (November 2024) to bring inclusive trade discussions to the forefront through a symposium that elevated diverse voices, including women and Indigenous Peoples in trade. Canada and Chile’s sustained collaboration —through initiatives with civil society, industry, and multilateral partners such as WEF Chile, Women in Mining Chile, and UN Women’s Originarias program—continued to advance gender equality and inclusive trade. Canada emphasized the importance of leveraging multilateral platforms such as the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement (GTAGA) and the Inclusive Trade Action Group (ITAG) to amplify bilateral efforts and create new opportunities for collaboration. Chile highlighted that both Parties have sustained a consistent and substantive dialogue, reflected in Committee meetings held between 2019 and 2021 and continued collaboration in multilateral and regional fora, and reported progress under the Trade and Gender committee, including a virtual knowledge-sharing event in November 2024 focused on gender-disaggregated trade data and best practices, as well as four Inclusive Trade Roundtables that strengthened public-private collaboration.
   
   The Parties further reaffirmed their commitment to advancing inclusive trade policies under the Canada–Chile Free Trade Agreement. Shared priorities include the effective implementation of trade and gender provisions with measurable outcomes,  increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in trade as a long-term strategy for diversification and resilience, improving the utilization of FTAs by addressing information and access barriers, enhancing gender disaggregated data analysis with attention to intersectionality, assessing the impact of Trade and Gender Chapters, strengthening data collection on export propensity and market destinations, promoting access to new markets through outreach and cooperation in multilateral forums, and simplifying trade agreements to make them more accessible. Looking ahead, both Parties will promote cooperative initiatives that foster inclusive and sustainable trade, including knowledge-sharing activities and engagement in regional and global platforms.
   
   Both Parties agreed to continue integrating gender considerations across CCFTA committees and to finalize a forward-looking work plan for 2026–2027.
   
   This plan consists of four priority areas: (1) strengthening inclusive participation and intersectionality, including but not limited to SMEs and Indigenous owned businesses; (2) promoting the link between trade and gender in multilateral and plurilateral forums; (3) exchanging experiences, with a special emphasis on the use of gender–disaggregated data; and (4) developing cooperation activities that generate tangible benefits for women-led businesses.
   
   
7. The Parties further emphasized that novel initiatives to promote trade and reciprocal investments are key to navigate the current international economic landscape. The Parties will discuss future engagements to leverage the Free Trade Agreement and open new opportunities for Canadian and Chilean businesses and investors, at the national and local levels. The Parties will further engage to develop joint research in export diversification and support for foreign investment, with a special focus on SMEs.
   
   
8. Finally, the Parties agreed that the 11th meeting of the Canada–Chile Free Trade Commission will be held in Santiago, Chile in late 2026, with the date to be confirmed through diplomatic channels.