Chilean-Colombian Free Trade Agreement with Focus on Public Procurement
Date: 2009-06-09
Latin America & the Caribbean
On the 8 May 2009, the Chilean-Colombian Free Trade Agreement came into effect and on the 18 May a public inauguration was held in the city of Bogotá, with the participation of high-level government authorities, entrepreneurs and public employees from both countries.
The new trade agreement includes a chapter on Public Contracting, which has established clauses that safeguard the principles of publicity and transparency, open participation for suppliers and equal competition among bidders, among other aspects. This chapter aims to ensure that public procuring entities offer contracts for goods and services to the most eligible commercial partner, regardless of whether they are Chilean or Colombian. The hope is that more Colombian suppliers are successful in entering the Chilean procurement market and vice versa.
Click here to read more.