Pacific Alliance to meet in Cartagena

The Pacific Alliance will meet in Cartagena, Colombia today.

The Pacific Alliance is a trading bloc of four countries—Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile—which aims to promote integration and free trade between its members. The bloc is expected to finalize a free trade agreement, signed with Singapore in July, at today’s meeting.

The free trade agreement expands collaboration on a variety of issues including energy, food trade, infrastructure and logistics. It will lower trade and investment barriers to support business development and market access for companies to promote economic development. The agreement is widely regarded as a milestone for the Alliance’s economic integration into the Asia-Pacific.

Expect the alliance to sign off on the trade deal. It is likely to provide a much-needed economic boost to member states that were hit hard by the pandemic. Short-term, this may see the Alliance linked to Singapore’s Single Window, which facilitates trade by streamlining the regulatory process and integrating the Pacific Alliance into Singapore’s digital economic tools for conducting international trade. Medium to long-term, the Pacific Alliance will likely use their Singapore agreement to expand trade links to other Asian countries, aiding their post-pandemic recovery and trade diversification.

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