Trade and Innovation - Chile EN
Chile and the Netherlands have a long-standing bilateral relationship. Although the commerce between the two countries still has a good growth potential, the Netherlands is a large investor in Chile. The Netherlands (and its private sector) is also recognized in Chile for its innovative capabilities, its focus on sustainability and its cooperative approach, through including government and knowledge institutions in the achievement of business solutions.
Let's connect
The EU and Chile concluded an Association Agreement in 2002, which includes a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement that entered into force in 2003 covering EU-Chile trade relations. A modernization of the Association Agreement, including the trade part, is signed late 2023 by the president of Chile and the president of the European Commission. It is currently being ratified in the EU and Chile. The EU is Chile’s third-largest trade partner.
The growing economic ties between the Netherlands and Chile support many jobs, a result of exports from Chile to the Netherlands and investments made by Dutch companies in Chile.
Trade
Chile exports to the Netherlands for 1.97 billion US$ in 2022, showing an average annual growth of 0.36%. Refined copper and chemicals (Molybdenum, Nitrites and Nitrates) are the main products, but also fruits, vegetables and wine (Netherlands is the main destination for Chilean exports). The imports from the Netherlands reach 676 million US$ in 2022, showing an average annual growth of 3.3%, and consists of a plethora of products.
Ther is a lot of growth potential for commerce between our two countries. Both countries rely on their open economy and score high on the ease-of-doing-business ranking. Chile has a powerhouse retail landscape, that dominates the Latin American retail, is set on improving its innovative capacity and has a strong drive towards sustainability, not in the last place because of its ongoing draughts.
The Netherlands is the 4th largest capital investor in Chile for the past 5 years and the largest European investor, indicating what level of trust there is in this economically and politically stable society, even though they went through a rough patch at the end of 2019 and have managed so far to curb the effects of the pandemic with a very large loan (no questions asked) from the IMF.
Chile has a very professional investment agency: InvestChile, with which the embassy is very well connected. As well as a very active export agency: ProChile.
The Dutch business community in Chile is thriving and is increasingly connected through the active Chilean Dutch Chamber of Commerce, the Holland House Chile.
Dutch community in general is active via the Dutch club and there is a Dutch school, where children can learn the Dutch language and culture, which is recognized by the Dutch Fountaion of international education.
Dutch companies in Chile are many, and in all fields of industry. From Heineken to KLM, from Nijhuis Saur to DSM, but also AkzoNobel, Philips, Signify, Arcadis, Fugro, Rabobank, Steinweg, Van Oordt, etc. Many of these companies show up in many rankings on innovation and/or sustainability.
Innovation
The Dutch have been innovators and inventors for more than 800 years, going back to the nation’s first attempts to create farmland out of marshes using windmills to drain the water.
Since that time, the Netherlands has contributed many revolutionizing inventions, scientific discoveries, works of art, and engineering feats. The Dutch startup culture and can-do mentality makes it the perfect incubator for innovative solutions. A few examples include the submarine, the compact disc, EKG, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, the stormproof umbrella, and much more.
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