
Chile's former president Lagos warns of Pacific Alliance, TPP risks
Former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos sees risks with the Latin American trading bloc known as the Pacific Alliance and the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.
Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are the founding and only full members of the Pacific Alliance, which was officially launched in June 2012.
Speaking at a seminar on Wednesday focused on regional integration and hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac), Lagos said the Pacific Alliance risked dividing Latin America into countries looking towards the Pacific and other countries looking towards the Atlantic to boost trade and investment.
This in turn could jeopardize the regional integration efforts that Latin America - and the Caribbean - should be pursuing to be able to speak with a single and stronger voice in global affairs, including economics, commerce and politics, he said, and added that a fragmented integration in Latin America was something "unacceptable."
Lagos called on the governments of the Pacific Alliance to invite the countries on Latin America's Atlantic coast to join the bloc. He also told reporters after the seminar that an important regional country like Brazil should already have been invited to join.
The minimum requirement to become a member of the Pacific Alliance is to have free trade agreements in place with all the founding members. Some 20 nations from Latin America and other regions of the world currently have observer status in the bloc and the only two observer countries that have candidate status are Costa Rica and Panama.
The Pacific Alliance nations have a combined population of around 210mn and represent approximately 50% of trade in Latin America.
TPP CONCERNS
Lagos - who governed Chile from 2000-06 - also raised concerns about the lack of transparency that has surrounded the TPP talks.
The TPP is a free trade initiative that is under negotiation and includes countries like Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
Lagos mentioned reports by Wikileaks and the New York Times on the issue. He said that negotiations are by their very nature private, but basic information is usually shared by negotiators with their fellow countrymen regarding the main issues on the table and the progress being made.
"The TPP suffers from a serious lack of transparency, threatens to impose more stringent copyright [rules] without public input, and pressures foreign governments to adopt unbalanced laws," according to an article on the TPP from the Public Knowledge website.
As for Chile, the former president recommended that the country approach the TPP initiative with caution as it could lead to a review of the free trade agreement that Chile already has with the US. The areas of intellectual property and financial services could be at the greatest risk, according to Lagos.
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: Infrastructure (Brazil)

New BNDES directors assume their posts amid major challenges
Business leaders hope the Brazilian development bank will focus on concessions and PPPs to attract private investment.

Paraíba greenlights new beltway
The Brazilian state will invest around US$40mn in the infrastructure.
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Infrastructure (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of Infrastructure projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Campos Gerais International Airport
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: 20 de Setembro international airport
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Expansion of SP-088 Pedro Eroles (Mogi - Dutra) highway
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: New Via Dutra highway concession (Road BR-116/465/101/SP/RJ Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Metro de Porto Alegre (MetrôPoa) - Phase 1
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: EF-118 railway (Rio-Vitória)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Macaé Port Terminal (TEPOR)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Railway EF-317 (Alcântara/MA - Açailandia/MA)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Road concession in Rio Grande do Sul (Block 3)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Line 16 (Violet) of the São Paulo Metro
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
Other companies in: Infrastructure (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of Infrastructure companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: CNH Industrial Latin America Ltda.  (New Holland Construction)
-
New Holland Construction is a global manufacturer of construction equipment with a global network of dealers, factories and R&D centers. The company provides services and soluti...
- Company: Arteleste Construções Ltda
- Company: Inovação Civil Brasileira Projetos e Serviços Tecnicos Ltda.  (INCIBRA)
-
The description included in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been modified or edited by the BNamericas’ researchers. However, it may have been...
- Company: Superintendência Regional Leste
- Company: Consórcio Maia Melo – Enescil
- Company: Terraplenagem e Obras Rodoviárias Construções Ltda.  (TORC)
-
The description included in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been modified or edited by the BNamericas’ researchers. However, it may have been...
- Company: Consórcio Nova Ponte