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By Alex Lennane
The Pacific Alliance, a group of Latin American countries comprising Chile, Peru, Mexico and Colombia – with nine further ‘observer’ countries – is moving away from the protectionist policies touted by Mercosur countries to advance free trade. At this week’s meeting the Alliance agreed to remove tariffs on 90% of the goods traded between them in July, and to eliminate the other duties in the medium term. Perhaps more interestingly, the group also aims to increase exports to Asia. “The door to our destiny is the construction of an area of deep integration that will allow us to become part of the global economy more successfully and more forcefully – particularly in the Asia Pacific region,” said Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos.