Chile's Rush to Free Trade Agreements

Abstract

This article analyses the reasons for Chile's aggressive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) policy. Assessing both how the Chilean government has converged with the export sector and how the government has been able to co-opt, soften and divide those on the losing side of any FTA policy, are key to understanding Chile's vast number of FTAs. However, FTAs are also a constitutive part of a country's foreign policy, which converts these accords into a vehicle for the achievement of state goals dealing with economic issues and power configurations and expectations. It is the interplay between domestic groups' interests and the state's foreign policy goals that explain Chile's rush to FTAs.