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Chilean Senators Navarro, Gomez and Tuma introduced a proyecto de acuerdo to the Senate that asks the President to open a public debate on the Transpacific  Partnership Agreement (TPP). It formally requests the President to provide “timely and accurate” information on the affects the agreement will have on Chile domestically, and on economic and international relations, including Chile’s trade relationship with China.

The request notes that both former Direcon Director Carlos Furche and economist Osvaldo Rosales have warned the TPP may not offer significant benefits to Chile, because it already has trade agreements with the other TPP members.  

The Senators quote former Chilean TPP negotiator Rodrigo Contreras, who recently recommended that Chile should “avoid limits on access to knowledge available on the Internet, and not exacerbate the intellectual property protection of downloaded online content. Nor should we accept the over-extension of the term of protection of copyright for books, movies or music that limit their availability in libraries and schools,  and that would make them more expensive for lower income people.”

The Senators also refer to a posting by Derechos Digitales which notes that 1) despite the fact that the TPP is called a “partnership,” for Chile it would basically renegotiate the terms of existing agreements it already has with the other Members, less than 10 years since these original agreements were signed, and  2) the secrecy of the negotiations is “problematic” because it impossible to know – even for Members of the Congress – how the Chilean government is conducting the negotiations.

Further Information:

• Full Text of the Request (Boletín N° S 1.591-12)
• TPP Abierto: Te necesitamos: pídele a tu senador que vote a favor el proyecto de acuerdo por la transparencia en el TPP