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Pacific Alliance

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Pacific Alliance
Alianza del Pacífico
Emblem of Pacific Alliance
Emblem
Dark green: Full members[needs update]
Dark green: Full members[needs update]
Official languageSpanish
TypeTrade bloc
Membership
Leaders
• President pro tempore
Peru Dina Boluarte
Establishment6 June 2012
Area
• Total
5,147,441[a] km2 (1,987,438 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 estimate
225 million[1]
• Density
45.2/km2 (117.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
US$4.981 trillion (6th)
• Per capita
US$21,399.46
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
US$2.317 trillion (8th)
• Per capita
US$9,955.18
Website
alianzapacifico.net/en
  1. Combined census estimates of member states.

The Pacific Alliance (Spanish: Alianza del Pacífico) is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean. The alliance was formed with the express purpose of improving regional integration and moving toward complete freedom in the movement of goods, services, capital and people between the four member states. Together, these four countries have a combined population of more than 230 million people and make up roughly 35 percent of Latin American GDP.

History

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Antigua and BarbudaArgentinaBahamasBarbadosBelizeBoliviaBrazilCanadaChileColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGrenadaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaMexicoMontserratNicaraguaPanamaParaguayPeruSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSurinameTrinidad and TobagoUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal AssistanceCommunity of Latin American and Caribbean StatesLatin American Economic SystemUnion of South American NationsAmazon Cooperation Treaty OrganizationAndean CommunityMercosurCaribbean CommunityPacific AllianceALBACentral American Integration SystemCentral American ParliamentOrganisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesLatin American Integration AssociationCentral America-4 Border Control AgreementUnited States–Mexico–Canada AgreementForum for the Progress and Integration of South AmericaAssociation of Caribbean StatesOrganization of American StatesPetrocaribeCARICOM Single Market and Economy
A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational organizations in the Americasv • d • e

The following countries are full members, in the process of becoming full members or observers. On 28 April 2011, then president of Peru Alan García organized a meeting with the presidents of Chile, Colombia and Mexico at the time. This working group issued the Declaración de Lima, a statement of intent to establish the Pacific Alliance.[2] The initial goal of the alliance was to further free trade with "a clear orientation toward Asia" and regional economic integration.[3]

Together, the four member states of the Pacific Alliance represent nearly 35 percent of Latin American GDP. If it were counted as a single country, the Pacific Alliance would have a nominal GDP of US$2.02 trillion (US$4.32 trillion at PPP GDP rates),[4] making it the 9th (or 7th) largest economy in the world. According to the World Trade Organization, the countries of the Pacific Alliance together exported roughly US$680 billion in 2019, almost twice as much as Mercosur, the other predominant Latin American trade bloc.[5] Individually and collectively, the core countries of the Pacific Alliance have been deemed "The Pacific Pumas" by political scientists, for their model of economic and political development.[citation needed]

At the VII Pacific Alliance Summit in Cali, Colombia, on 22 May 2013, Costa Rica signed a trade agreement with Colombia, and later in the summit received approval for full membership from all the founding members.[6] Costa Rica is finishing up the process so it can be readily incorporated as the Alliance's fifth member. At the same summit seven observers were admitted: the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Honduras, Paraguay, Portugal, among others.[7]

The Pacific Alliance currently has 54 observer states as of 2024, including economic heavyweights such as Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as three of the five Southern Common Market (Mercosur) countries and a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).[8] Analysts describe the Pacific Alliance as a tool to practise a kind of joint "nation-branding" to promote trade and investment and to enhance the international status and visibility of the member states.[8]

Projects

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In addition to reducing trade barriers, the Pacific Alliance has begun several other projects for regional integration, including visa-free tourist travel,[9] a common stock exchange, and joint embassies in several countries.

Trade liberalization

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In May 2016, the Pacific Alliance removed 92 percent of tariffs on goods traded between members.[10] Based on a 2013 agreement, the rest of the tariffs will be removed by 2020.[9]

On 26 January 2022, the Pacific Alliance signed its first collective free trade agreement with a nation outside the alliance: Singapore. Singapore had been a candidate for associate member status of the Pacific Alliance since 2017.[11] As of February 2023, ratification of the PASFTA is ongoing.[12]

Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano

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The Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA) originally integrated the stock markets of Colombia (Colombia Stock Exchange), Chile (Santiago Stock Exchange), and Peru (Lima Stock Exchange), and is seen as a foundation for the Alliance's economic integration. These three stock markets began their integration in November 2010; this made it Latin America's largest market according to number of issuers, the second by market capitalization, and the third by turnover.

The Mexican Stock Exchange began the process of incorporation into MILA and its full incorporation was expected by the year 2014. The Mexican Stock Exchange took the step of acquiring a total of 3.79 million shares of the Lima Stock Exchange (BVL), equivalent to 6.7 percent of the shares of Series A of that market.[13] This is part of an agreement for a strategic partnership in order to develop joint business activities and development of the stock markets of Peru and Mexico, and eventually complete integration into MILA.

The Mexican Stock Exchange met the timeframe and announced the first trade made as part of MILA on 2 December 2014.[14] The trade on MIILA was a $1,415 purchase of 200 shares in Chilean retailer Falabella, executed by GBM Mexico through GBM Chile.[14] With the entry of Mexico into MILA, the integrated stock market now counts 780 issuers among the four countries, making it the biggest market by number of listed companies in Latin America, and the biggest in terms of market capitalization, according to the World Federation of Exchanges.[14] The joint capitalization of the four bourses tops US$1.25 trillion, making it larger than the US$1.22 trillion BM&F Bovespa.[13]

Chile Santiago Stock Exchange, Chile
Colombia Colombia Stock Exchange
Mexico Mexican Stock Exchange
Peru Lima Stock Exchange, Peru

Joint diplomatic missions

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Among the more important agreements that have been reached is the creation of joint diplomatic missions (embassies, consulates, etc.) that will provide citizens of Pacific Alliance member states with needed diplomatic services. The Declaration of Cali highlights the importance of the opening of an embassy shared between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru in Ghana, as well as the agreement between Chile and Colombia to share embassies in Algeria and Morocco and between Colombia and Peru to share an embassy in Vietnam. The Declaration of Cali encourages these countries to move forward on these initiatives. In November 2014, Mexico opened its first trade office in Africa; located in Casablanca and shared with the other Pacific Alliance members.[15]

Expansion

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VI Summit of the Pacific Alliance, Santiago de Chile.

As of July 2018, there are 55 observer states of which two are candidate countries, in process of full membership, which are the Central-American countries of Costa Rica and Panama.

Canada has also been mentioned as a candidate to join the alliance, and called a "natural fit" by Mexico's vice-minister of foreign affairs, Sergio Alcocer.[16] It has free-trade agreements with the four founding members, and has been encouraged by regional leaders to join the alliance. However the Canadian government has yet to upgrade its observer status to observer-candidate as it is still determining whether or not to become a member.[16][17]

Costa Rica began the process of joining on 10 February 2014 at the eighth summit of the Alliance in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, when President Laura Chinchilla signed a protocol at a plenary session finalizing the decision to join the alliance.[18] The country had since postponed its incorporation into the alliance indefinitely, pending consultations by its presidential economic council.[19] However, on 8 July 2022, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles announced that Costa Rica had applied to become a full member of the Alliance.[20]

Ecuador has been critical of the alliance in conjunction with other leaders of ALBA,[21] but its president, Rafael Correa, has also speculated on a possible future bid if integration advances in areas other than trade.[22]

Guatemala has expressed concrete interest in joining the Pacific Alliance and is pursuing trade deals with current members as a precursor to a possible membership application.[7]

Panama has expressed interest in joining the Alliance,[23] and is an official observer-candidate according to the website.[24] Panama has already signed trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Chile, and reached an agreement with Mexico to sign a free-trade deal in March 2014.[25] While fulfilling most of the criteria to enter in the alliance,[26] the country has so far refused to commit itself to full membership.[27]

Paraguay, a founding member of Mercosur and observer of the Pacific Alliance, has begun pursuing free-trade deals with current members as a precursor to a possible membership application.[28] Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur following the impeachment of Fernando Lugo, although Paraguay asked Mercosur to lift the sanction. After the election and inauguration of Horacio Cartes, Paraguay has so far claimed "Paraguay would not abandon Mercosur", but assured it will seek to join the alliance.[29] The government has said it is reportedly considering joining the Pacific Alliance in addition to rejoining Mercosur.[28][30]

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden expressed that the United States was willing to join the Pacific Alliance as an observer on 23 May 2013, in Bogotá, Colombia, during a bilateral meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.[31]

Argentine President Mauricio Macri, during his campaign and in press conferences after the election, has expressed his desire to bring his country closer to the Pacific Alliance and also work on integration between the bloc and his country's trade bloc Mercosur.[32]

Uruguay has been encouraged to join the alliance by existing members Peru and Colombia, and is reportedly considering the possibility of accession.[33]

Honduras officially applied for formal membership in October 2016, with the vocal support of Chile.[34]

List of Summits

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No. Date Host country Host figure Location held Notes
I 28 April 2011  Peru President Alan García Pérez Lima, Peru
II 4 December 2011  Mexico President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa Merida, Mexico
III 5 March 2012 None None None First virtual presidential summit.
IV 6 June 2012  Chile President Sebastián Piñera Echenique Antofagasta, Chile
V 17 November 2012  Spain None Cadiz, Spain The summit held after the XXII Iberoamerican Summit.
VI 27 January 2013  Chile President Sebastián Piñera Echenique Santiago, Chile
VII 20–23 May 2013  Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos Cali, Colombia
VIII 8–10 February 2014  Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
IX 19–20 June 2014  Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto Nayarit, Mexico
X 1–3 July 2015  Peru President Ollanta Humala Paracas, Peru
XI 1 July 2016  Chile President Michelle Bachelet Puerto Varas, Chile
XII 29–30 June 2017  Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos Cali, Colombia
XIII 24–25 July 2018  Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
XIV 5–6 July 2019  Peru President Martín Vizcarra Lima, Peru President Lopez Obrador of Mexico didn't participate in the summit.
XV 11 December 2020  Chile President Sebastián Piñera No host city The summit was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic
XVI 26 January 2022  Colombia President Iván Duque Bahía Málaga, Colombia
XVII TBA 2023  Peru President Dina Boluarte TBA Originally supposed to be held in Mexico City, Mexico on 25 November 2022 and to be hosted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.[35] Because of the unavailabilty of then-President of Peru Pedro Castillo to leave the country for Mexico, it was first announced that the summit would take place in Lima, Peru on 14 December 2022.[36] However, due to the Peruvian political crisis caused by the 2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt along with its subsequent protests, the summit was suspended until 2023.

Members

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Exclusive economic zones of the member states of the Pacific Alliance. Considering them, the total area reaches the 13 729 753 km2.

Full members

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Associated state

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Candidate Associate members

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Observers

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Corresponds to the terrestrial surface. Including the exclusive economic zones of each member state, the total area is 13 729 753 km².

References

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  1. ^ "What is the Pacific Alliance? – Alianza del Pacífico". Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ Alianza del Pacifico. "Antecedentes" (in Spanish). Alianza del Pacífico. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013. El 28 de abril de 2011, los Jefes de Estado de Chile, Colombia, México y Perú acordaron en la Declaración de Lima, establecer la Alianza del Pacífico con el objetivo de "avanzar progresivamente hacia la libre circulación de bienes, servicios, capitales y personas".
  3. ^ "Pacific Alliance unites Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile economies; 1st step: dropping visas". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2021". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. April 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Exports of goods and services (BoP, current US$)". data.worldbank.org. 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. ^ https://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/colombias-president-santos-signs-fta-costa-rican-counterpart-photo-040600110.html [dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b Wyss, Jim. "Costa Rica and Guatemala move closer to joining Pacific Alliance bloc". The Miami Herald. Miami Herald Media Co. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b German Institute of Global and Area Studies (15 August 2016). "The Pacific Alliance: Nation-Branding through Regional Organisations". German Institute of Global and Area Studies. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b "How deep is their love?". The Economist. 12 March 2015. They signed an agreement in 2013 to abolish tariffs on 92% of merchandise trade, with the remainder to be freed by 2020. They have scrapped tourist visa requirements for each others' citizens...
  10. ^ "Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance: Whither the Relationship?". Wilson Center. 3 August 2016.
  11. ^ "HKTDC Research".
  12. ^ Correspondent, Ovais SubhaniSenior (23 February 2023). "Peru becomes first Pacific Alliance member to ratify bloc's trade deal with Singapore". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 July 2023. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ a b Peter Kohli. "The Andean Exchange: A Developing Market Opportunity in Our Backyard". Nasdaq. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Jude Webber. "Mexico exchange names Sacristán as new head". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Mexico opens 1st trade office in Africa". Fox News Networks. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  16. ^ a b Clark, Campbell (20 May 2013). "Canada called 'a natural fit' for Pacific Alliance". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  17. ^ Scoffield, Heather (23 May 2013). "Harper says it's 'too early' to decide whether to join Pacific Alliance". The Canadian Press. Bell Media. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  18. ^ Costa Rica firma la hoja de ruta para su adhesión a la Alianza del Pacífico La Nación, 2014-02-10. (in Spanish)
  19. ^ Gerardo Ruiz, Ramón (17 June 2015). "Costa Rica posterga su ingreso a la Alianza del Pacífico". La Nación. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  20. ^ "Costa Rica's Chaves launches Pacific Alliance trade push".
  21. ^ Romero, Maria Teresa (18 October 2013). "Pacific Alliance Offers Hope for Latin American Collaboration". PanAm Post. AMTG Solutions. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  22. ^ MercoPress (31 July 2013). "Ecuador's Correa pondering whether to join Mercosur or the Pacific Alliance". MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  23. ^ The Economist (18 May 2013). "Latin American geoeconomics: A continental divide". Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  24. ^ "Observer Countries". Pacific Alliance website. Pacific Alliance. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  25. ^ "Panamá y México sellan Tratado de Libre Comercio". Excelsior. 18 March 2014.
  26. ^ "Panama Nears Trade Deal with Mexico: Next Stop, Pacific Alliance". PanAm post. 24 March 2014.
  27. ^ "Panamá, cada vez más cerca de la Alianza del Pacífico". La Estrella de Panamá. 22 June 2015.
  28. ^ a b MercoPress (2 August 2013). "Paraguay advancing on trade agreement with Mexico, previous to requesting Pacific Alliance membership". MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  29. ^ Mercopress (7 July 2013). "Paraguay Talking Trade with Mexico, US, Pacific Alliance". Non-Aligned Movement News Network. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  30. ^ Kenneally, Ivan (3 August 2013). "Mercosur, Pacific Alliance Battle Over Paraguay". Sourcing Journal. Hertsman Media Group. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  31. ^ "U.S. willing to join Pacific Alliance as observer: Biden". sina English. Xinhua News Agency. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  32. ^ "La política exterior de Macri".
  33. ^ "Uruguay: Montevideo Considering Joining Pacific Alliance Trade Bloc". Stratfor Worldview. Stratfor Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  34. ^ "Chile y Honduras estrechan relaciones con visita de canciller". Agencia Informativa Latinoamericana Prensa Latina. Prensa Latina. 20 October 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  35. ^ "XVII Cumbre de la Alianza del Pacífico se realizará la próxima semana en México – Alianza del Pacífico" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  36. ^ "https://twitter.com/CancilleriaPeru/status/1597982882320248832". Twitter. Retrieved 19 July 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  37. ^ "Pacific Alliance and Singapore sign Free Trade Agreement – Alianza del Pacífico". 26 January 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  38. ^ "Países de la Alianza del Pacífico apoyan segundo mandato de Christine Lagarde al frente del FMI – Alianza del Pacífico".
  39. ^ MinutoUno (18 January 2016). "La integración de Argentina con la Alianza del Pacífico debe darse desde el Mercosur". Minutouno.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  40. ^ "Armenia granted observer status at Pacific Alliance". 10 July 2019.
  41. ^ a b "21st Meeting of the Pacific Alliance Council of Ministers".
  42. ^ a b c "Consejo de Ministros de la Alianza del Pacífico sesionó en México para ultimar detalles de la próxima Cumbre de Jefes de Estado – Alianza del Pacífico".
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