Chile-Mexico Trade: Nearshoring and Global Value Chain Growth

Over the past decades, the trade relationship between Chile and Mexico has demonstrated that economic openness, trade agreements, and public–private cooperation are key tools for driving growth and competitiveness. This is not a recent or circumstantial relationship: Chile and Mexico share more than 25 years of a free trade agreement (FTA), which has laid solid foundations for a fluid, predictable, and continuously evolving trade exchange.

Today, in a context marked by the reconfiguration of global supply chains and the rise of nearshoring, this relationship is taking on a new dimension. Beyond traditional bilateral trade, the opportunity lies in deepening the integration of Chilean exports into the value chains that operate from Mexico toward North America and other global markets.

Mexico has consolidated its position as a regional production hub, particularly in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, automotive, and technology. To sustain and strengthen this role, access to reliable international suppliers with proven export experience and high standards is increasingly important. In this context, Chile contributes a diversified and sophisticated export offer that is well aligned with the requirements of global value chains.

The shared network of trade agreements, including the bilateral FTA, the Pacific Alliance, and the CPTPP, enables Chilean companies to integrate more efficiently into Mexican production processes, facilitating trade in intermediate goods, inputs, services, and higher value-added solutions. This framework not only reduces barriers but also provides legal certainty that supports long-term commercial relationships.

Concrete advances in export diversification further reinforce this dynamic. In 2025, Chile began exporting new products to the Mexican market, such as fresh oranges and peonies, reflecting the continuous evolution of the bilateral trade relationship and the ability of Chilean exporters to respond to market opportunities, regulatory frameworks, and consumer demand. These developments illustrate how trade agreements translate into tangible results and new business opportunities.

Sectors such as processed foods, packaging solutions, mining and industrial suppliers, renewable energy, technology services, industrial software, logistics, and knowledge-based services offer strong potential to further strengthen export linkages between both countries and advance toward deeper productive integration.

For more than two decades, ProChile has supported this evolution by assisting Chilean companies in their internationalization processes and promoting the strategic use of trade agreements with Mexico, with a clear focus on export development, value chain integration, and sustainable long-term business relationships.

In a challenging global environment, accumulated experience, mutual trust, and a robust trade institutional framework allow the Chile–Mexico relationship to move into a new phase, one in which exports and value chains are consolidated as central pillars of a long-term strategic partnership.

Making full use of trade agreements and strengthening productive linkages will remain key for Chilean exports to add value to Mexican production chains and to regional trade as a whole.