Chairman Kokubu’s Comments on Entry into Force of CPTPP for Chile

February 21, 2023

Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc.

I welcome the news that Chile recently became the tenth party of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP is an economic partnership agreement that both promotes the reduction of tariffs and deregulation of investment and services, and establishes rules in a wide range of areas, such as intellectual property, e-commerce, and competition conditions for state-owned enterprises. As an organization that promotes free trade, the JFTC views the CPTPP as an important framework supplementing the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Chile and Japan, which last year commemorated the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, share the fundamental values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Chile is an important strategic partner for Japan and both countries have strong economic ties, including a bilateral economic partnership agreement reached in 2007. I hope that we will continue to cooperate, especially in the telecommunications infrastructure field and the building of resilient mineral resource supply chains. I also hope that Chile’s entry into the CPTPP will further strengthen and expand the free, fair, and rule-based multilateral trade system.

In the aim of forming a free trade and investment zone encompassing the Pacific Rim, I would like the Japanese government to continue to show leadership by urging Brunei, which has not yet ratified the agreement, to complete the necessary internal procedures, encouraging the prompt accession of the United Kingdom, and persistently lobbying for the return of the United States to the CPTPP.