Chile seeks wider US tariff exemptions for salmon, wine, grapes and other exports

Chile opens a new phase of tariff talks

Chile has entered a key phase of trade negotiations with the United States, seeking additional exemptions from the 12.5% tariff that Washington applies to part of the country's exports. The talks could determine the treatment of several major Chilean food and agricultural products in one of their most important overseas markets.

According to Pauta, Chilean Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Paula Estévez met Jeffrey Goettman, deputy United States trade representative and the second-ranking official at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, at the Foreign Ministry on August 24. The US delegation was scheduled to remain in Chile on Monday and Tuesday, extending discussions that had previously been conducted remotely for several weeks.

Salmon, fruit and wine remain exposed

Chile is seeking improved access conditions for salmon, fresh grapes, blueberries, wine, poultry meat and cherries, among other products still subject to the 12.5% surcharge. The range of goods places aquaculture, farming and food processing at the center of the negotiations, with the outcome potentially affecting producers, exporters and US importers across several supply chains.

More than half the value of Chilean exports to the United States was excluded from the surcharge under exemptions established by Washington, Pauta reported. That provides a substantial base of preferential treatment, but it also leaves commercially important parts of Chile's agricultural, food and aquaculture export basket facing an additional border cost.

A 12.5% tariff can be absorbed by exporters, passed on to importers and consumers, or shared along the supply chain, depending on contracts and market conditions. The source did not provide shipment values, price effects or estimates of the trade covered by Chile's latest request. It therefore remains unclear how much commercial value would benefit if Washington accepted the full product list.

Chile argues its exports complement US production

The Chilean government has already submitted a list of products for which it wants better treatment. Its case is that several Chilean exports complement the US economy rather than threaten domestic producers. That argument is especially relevant for goods whose supply is shaped by seasonality, product differentiation or established relationships between Chilean suppliers and US buyers.

The government prepared the meeting with Chile's main business associations after announcing in July that the negotiations would focus on expanding exemptions for the national export basket. Talks were due to continue on August 25. No agreement, timetable for a decision or specific new exemption had been announced in the source material, so the immediate likelihood of relief remains uncertain and depends on whether US officials accept Chile's product-level case.