August 1, 2003

Senate Approves Chile, Singapore Trade Deal Including Immigration Provisions

Effective January 1, 2004, Chile will become the first South American and Singapore the first East Asian country to join in a bilateral pact to end tariffs, eliminate non-tariff barriers, open up financial and other services and protect intellectual property rights. The Senate voted on Thursday 66-32 for Singapore and 66-31 for Chile. Last week the House also voted favorably for the new deal.

Under the free trade deal with Chile, more than 85 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products would become tariff-free, with most of the remaining tariffs eliminated within four years. Singapore and the United States already have a similar tariff-free relationship. However, this new agreement will discourage against intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting, which has, for years, cost the U.S. motion picture, music and publishing industries billions of dollars in losses every year.

Additionally, this will create a separate H-1B (II) category that would reserve 1,400 visa numbers for Chile and 5,400 for Singapore. These visa numbers will count against the H-1B cap, which is set to revert back to 65,000 on October 1, 2003.

GT will provide additional updates as available.