Export to Chile
Chile, despite not being one of the main economies in South America, is a country with a very healthy trade balance, since exports exceed imports. In addition, it is a region with multiple trade agreements that allow it to extend its trade relations in 65 markets. Its third largest trading partner in terms of imports and exports is the European Union and, within this, Spain is its second largest trading partner in terms of trade in goods.
The Republic of Chile, with an area of 757,000 km2, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, and with a population of some 19.7 million inhabitants, is a country that, before the appearance of Covid-19, maintained sustained growth and, thanks to its openness to other markets, was one of the most dynamic countries in the region.
According to the International Monetary Fund, throughout 2020, the pandemic had a negative impact on its growth and it closed the year with a 5.8% drop in its economy, with current GDP falling from US$279.3 billion (USM) in 2019 to US$245.4 billion in 2020.
Despite this decrease, the same institution predicted that in 2021 Chile’s economic activity was expected to grow by 6.5%. The Central Bank of Chile also predicted a higher growth of between 8.5% and 9.5%, but the reality has been that GDP growth has been able to reach an increase of 12% in 2021, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its December outlook. This strong recovery has been thanks to the fiscal stimulus package and rapid progress in vaccination to address Covid-19. However, it seems that this will not be repeated and different international entities predict that in 2022 the country’s economic growth will be around 2 or 3% and, in 2023, between 1.75 and 2.75%.
Despite the uncertainties, Chile presents itself as a solid economy, given that according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, which measures how a country uses its resources and its ability to provide its inhabitants with a high level of prosperity, in 2019 Chile ranked 33rd in the ranking, which is made up of 141 countries.
Another relevant economic data on Chile is provided by the World Bank’s Doing business 2020, which indicates that the country ranks 59th out of 190 in terms of ease of doing business, although in terms of facilities for cross-border trade it ranks 73rd.
Chile is a country open to foreign trade
Chile’s economic strength is also related to its openness to the outside world and the large number of trade agreements signed worldwide. Chile has 29 agreements in force with 65 markets, including the Association Agreement with the European Union, signed in 2003.
This trade agreement establishes that the applicable tariff for most of the European goods that want to enter Chile is 0% and, if they do not enter this segment, a tariff of less than 6% is applied, which is the general tariff.
Likewise, in 2016 the Pacific Alliance came into force, an agreement between Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, an economic and development initiative whose scope goes beyond́ a mere free trade agreement. This bloc is the eighth largest economic and exporting power in the world.
Chile is also an associate member of the Andean Community (made up of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, plus four other associate countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). This entity works to foster the customs union and promote the region’s development through integration and economic and social cooperation.
Chile is also a member of the World Trade Organization and is part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
What Chile exports and imports: All the information
According to data provided by ICEX, in 2020 Chile’s foreign trade reached a value of 122,875 USM (exports plus imports). Exports, at 67,558 USM were down 2.3% on the previous year, while imports, at 55,317 USM, also contracted by 13.7%.
Products exported by Chile
Among the products exported from Chile, minerals (20,366 USM and a +.1.7% increase compared to 2019), copper and its manufactures (15,713 USM, +5.1%), unpreserved fruits (5,802 USM, +0.4%) and fish, crustaceans and mollusks (4,928 USM, down -14.8%) stand out for their volume.
Products imported by Chile
Regarding Chilean imports, machinery and mechanical appliances (7,770 USM and -8.2% lower than 2019), fuels and mineral oils (7,186 USM and -33.5%), electrical appliances and equipment (7,109 USM and +19.6), and motor vehicles (4,269 USM and -40.8%) stand out.
Chilean business partners
As regards the country’s trading partners, China is the main client, both for Chilean exports (37.2% of the total) and imports (27.4% of the total). The second largest trading partner is the United States, which receives 13.9% of Chile’s total exports and 17.9% of the South American country’s imports.
In third place in the ranking is the European Union, which accounts for 8.9% of Chile’s exports. On the other hand, Chile imports 15.1% of its total imports from the EU.
Finally, other destination countries for Chilean exports are: Japan (8.7% of the total), South Korea (5.9%), Brazil (4.4%) and Peru (2.4%). While other countries from which Chile imports goods are: Brazil (7.6% of the total), Argentina (6.1%), Mexico (2.8%) and Colombia (2%).
Turning to the European Union, Chile’s exports to the EU 27, which in 2020 amounted to 5,955 USM (down 17.4% compared to the previous year), were mainly directed to the Netherlands (1.9% of the EU 27 total) and Spain (1.6%).
As for European exports to Chile, which reached 7,482 USM and fell by 30.4% compared to 2019, these came from: Germany (4% of the EU 27 total), Spain (2.5%) and Italy (2%).
As for trade between Chile and Spain, Spanish exports to the South American country reached €1,294 M in 2020, registering a slight decrease compared to €1,601 M in 2019. Spanish imports from Chile also experienced a decrease and went from €1,274 M in 2019 to €1,023 M in 2020.
Regarding the opportunities presented by the Chilean market for Spain, the greatest attraction is the supply of machinery for the mining industry, as well as for the mechanization of agriculture and agro-industry.
Documentation for exporting to Chile
To export to Chile, the following documents are required: the certificate of origin (if the goods benefit from a preference or tariff reduction under a trade agreement), the entry declaration, the bill of lading, the original commercial invoice, the packing list (for grouped or containerized goods), the customs declaration (DUA), the SOLAS certificate and the sanitary and phytosanitary certificate (authorization), in the case of agricultural and food products.
Information and resources
