Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you very much for your kind invitation.

I am very pleased to join you at the launch of this publication, looking at the perspectives and opportunities for the Pacific Alliance.

Let me start by congratulating all involved in this initiative, especially the editors Mario Torres and Jonathan Violante.

Regional initiatives, like the one we are discussing today, existed before the GATT and continue to grow in number today. Their relationship with the global system is very old, but it continues to evolve.

These initiatives can complement global trade rules and help spread the benefits of trade. In fact, our studies show that the WTO global rules provide the basis for many of these efforts.

So it is important to have an informed debate about the opportunities and challenges of these arrangements – and how they can work together with global trade rules.

The book launched today is an important addition to that debate.

It takes an in-depth look at the Pacific Alliance. This agreement, which comprises Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, is an important trade initiative concluded in recent years among Latin American countries.  

This has drawn a great deal of international attention. Costa Rica and Panama are candidates to become acceding members, and almost 50 countries are currently observers to the Pacific Alliance.

As the authors in the book point out, the four members of this initiative have undertaken some important reforms.

For example, they have eliminated over 90% of tariffs on intra-trade in goods, with further cuts planned.

They have also launched the Latin American Integrated Market, integrating the stock exchanges of the four countries.

These are noteworthy accomplishments.

In fact, the parties to the Pacific Alliance have a track record of integration. These are the countries with the largest networks of regional trade agreements in the region and are all bound by bilateral agreements between each other.

A key contribution of this initiative is to simplify and harmonize the existing rules and commitments under these bilateral agreements, helping to ease trade flows.

For example, in contrast to the bilateral agreements, the Pacific Alliance allows cumulation of origin between the parties thereby creating an integrated market for trade in goods.

This is particularly important to promote and facilitate the integration of exporters from Pacific Alliance countries into global value chains.

In addition, the Alliance expands existing bilateral services and investment commitments.

There are some provisions included in the bilateral agreements that are not included in the Pacific Alliance protocol, such as provisions on the environment. But there are many more that are not systematically included across the bilateral agreements. These include trade facilitation, financial services, maritime services, intellectual property, telecommunications, government procurement and electronic commerce.

With all of this in mind I think it's clear that the Alliance is an ambitious initiative.

The countries involved are using trade as a bold strategy for growth and development. They are laying the foundations to reach out to emerging economies, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

And of course this is a work in progress. The authors point to a number of challenges and opportunities for further progress in the bloc.

For example, they highlight that intra-regional trade accounts for only about 3 per cent of the group's total exports. So clearly there is scope for more to be done on this front.

They also list infrastructure bottlenecks, especially in ports, and low participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in trade as some areas where further work could help increase trade flows.

These are challenges which the Alliance is working to tackle, and I think that the WTO can continue to be an important partner here.

There are a number of ways that the WTO can help.

First, by offering the countries of the Pacific Alliance a platform to make their voices heard.

The WTO is the only organization dealing with trade rules at a global level.  All four Pacific Alliance members are also WTO members, and are very engaged and active in the organization. Now that the agreement has been notified to the WTO it will also be useful for other members to hear about the Pacific Alliance's achievements.

Second, by helping the Pacific Alliance develop the necessary skills and tools to trade.

For example, through the WTO's Aid for Trade initiative, the members of the Pacific Alliance receive targeted assistance to improve their trading infrastructure. 

Since 2006, the initiative has dispersed around 4.7 billion dollars in the Pacific Alliance countries.  And it is having important results on the ground. It has been estimated that one dollar invested in Aid for Trade results in nearly eight dollars of exports from developing countries in general.

Third, the WTO can make a difference for the Pacific Alliance by negotiating new rules to update and improve the system.

In 2015, at our ministerial conference in Nairobi, members eliminated agricultural export subsidies. This was the biggest reform in agricultural trade in 20 years, and it will help level the playing field for farmers in the Pacific Alliance.

Also in Nairobi, a group of WTO members, including Colombia, agreed to expand the WTO's Information Technology Agreement, eliminating tariffs in 200 high-tech products, trade in which is worth 1.3 trillion dollars annually.

These results build on other recent WTO trade deals, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

This deal tackles red tape at the border, helping to cut trade costs. By doing so, it can help to reduce barriers to intra-regional trade in the Pacific Alliance.

Estimates show that the full implementation of the agreement could reduce trade costs of members by an average of 14.5 per cent.

For these benefits to become a reality, the agreement must be ratified. Almost 100 WTO members have done so, including Mexico and Peru.

Chile deposited its ratification just a few days ago, which was very welcome.

I am sure Colombia is also looking to join the WTO members that have already deposited their ratification instruments.

For many years delivering trade reforms through the WTO seemed almost impossible. With these achievements, we have started to change that.

Members are currently considering how we might build on this progress and continue advancing our negotiating work.

These conversations are still at an early stage, but they may prove to be very positive for the Pacific Alliance countries.

So, in conclusion, I urge the members of the Alliance

• to stay engaged in the WTO
• to keep promoting trade in the region
• and to keep working to ensure more and more people can enjoy the benefits of trade.

Congratulations again to all involved in this publication.  I wish you an interactive and engaging session.