China and Chile's free trade agreement, which is expected to
eventually exempt 97 percent of all trade goods from import
tariffs, went into effect on Sunday.
Effective Oct. 1, China will lift tariffs on 2,834 products
imported from Chile, including copper.
Chile will give duty free status to 5,891 commodities from
China, including vegetables, fruits and mechanical and electrical
equipment.
China has agreed to maintain tariffs on 7,391 products imported
from Chile, while 7,750 exported products will be charged levies by
Chile, said the Ministry of Finance.
China is Chile's second largest trading partner, with copper
contributing to 30 percent of China's imports from Chile.
Statistics from the International Copper Association (China) show
that 50 percent of China's imported copper comes from Chile.
Chinese factories that process and consume copper will benefit
from tariff cuts, said insiders of copper industry.
China and Chile initiated free trade talks in November 2004. It
took five rounds of negotiations before a consensus was reached on
November 18, 2005. Chile is the first Latin American country to
sign a free trade agreement with China.
The Ministry of Commerce said bilateral trade between China and
Chile has been growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent
since 2000. Commodity trade volume reached US$7.13 billion in 2005,
with China's imports standing at US$2.15 billion and Chile's
imports hitting US$4.98 billion.
(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2006)