Chile was the first Latin American country to sign an Association Agreement with the EU. The Association Agreement was signed back in 2002 and it includes, inter alia, political cooperation and several trade provisions.
However, several developments have taken place since then both in the EU and Chile. The EU has signed several agreements with other countries in South America. Most notably, the EU has signed a trade agreement with Colombia and Peru. The EU has also signed an Association Agreement with Central America. Plus, agreement with Canada was completed recently. While TTIP with the U.S. is ongoing since 2013.
The new agreements signed by the EU with other regions and countries are far more comprehensive and offer enhanced preferential treatment. Against this backdrop, Chile’s relationship with the EU risks falling behind.
All interested parties in the trade deal with Chile and, any other third countries that would like to change or preserve their trade relationship with the EU, can now do so now be representing their views before DG Trade.