Pacific Alliance: capital markets agreement

On July 2, 2023, Mexico ratified an agreement signed by the parties to the Pacific Alliance Framework Agreement, which establishes a standard tax treatment for interest and capital gains derived from the sale of shares through any Latin American Integrated Market stock exchange.

In general, this agreement aims to encourage the participation of institutional investors in the capital markets of the Pacific Alliance member countries. 

The agreement came into force on January 1, 2024.

Created in 2011, the Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative and its members, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, aim to foster economic and trade cooperation among member countries, as well as to promote the free movement of goods, services, capital and people in the region.

Pacific Alliance

Then, on June 6, 2012, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru signed the framework agreement «Pacific Alliance Agreement», and on February 10, 2014, the same countries signed framework protocols.

Also, the Pacific Alliance aims for the member states to create attractive integrated markets and provide greater international competitiveness, and to grow as a platform for trade integration especially with the Asia-Pacific region.

The main areas of work of the Pacific Alliance include the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers, trade facilitation, investment promotion, cooperation in education, culture and science, and the integration of financial markets.

Outlook

In early 2022, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Singapore and the Pacific Alliance was signed, which, once ratified by the parties and entered into force, will make Singapore the first associate state of the Alliance.

In addition to Singapore, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, as associate members, and Ecuador, Honduras and Costa Rica, as full members, are in the process of joining.