Chilean Ambassador’s Visit Signals Rebirth of Atlanta’s Chile Chamber

Chilean Ambassador’s Visit Signals Rebirth of Atlanta’s Chile Chamber

In Atlanta, the Chilean Ambassador to the United States, Juan Gabriel Valdés, paid a visit to celebrate the rejuvenation of a previously latent organization geared towards stimulating commerce between the Southeast U.S. and the South American nation.

A Sign of Renewed Cooperation and Commitment

Several representatives from Chile’s leading corporations engaged in a business roundtable with Ambassador Valdés and various Chilean governmental bodies at Atlanta’s chamber of commerce on April 23. The Ambassador, serving his second term in Washington, was present during the signing of a pact between the two chambers, signifying a renewed era of combined efforts.

Valdés lauded the present attendees, comprised of notable figures representing some of Chile’s most prominent multinational corporations, for advocating the advancement of their home country in the year following the bicentennial of Chile-U.S. relations.

The Rebirth of the Chilean–American Chamber of Commerce

Executives at the meeting expressed fervor at the prospect of bringing the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce of the South back to life.“ We feel we are a bit late in terms of promoting the allure of our country,” professed Horacio Fuentes, a wine importer at Ventisquero Wine Estates, who will play a crucial role in managing the chamber. “Certainly, we have to catch up.”

Over a decade ago, Chile used to run a ProChile trade office in Atlanta. Since its shutdown, the country’s formal representation here has been solely through Honorary Consul Erika Monckeberg, who was present at the meeting. In contrast, Georgia has maintained a trade office in Chile for over 15 years, and Delta Air Lines has been operating nonstop flights from Atlanta to Santiago, Chile’s capital.

Chile: A Key Player in International Trade

Chile, inhabited by about 20 million people along South America’s Pacific Coast, has steadily embraced open trade, taking a proactive role among Latin American nations in establishing a free-trade agreement with the United States, which came into effect in 2004. Since then, Chile has turned into a major supplier of agricultural products like grapes and avocados to the U.S., supplementing offseason in the Northern Hemisphere.

The country is also the world’s leading copper producer and its section of the Atacama Desert possesses some of the largest lithium reserves worldwide, making Chile an indispensable player in the global clean energy transition. A board of directors, drawn from companies with strong Chilean links established in Dunwoody, will govern the rejuvenated chamber.

Strengthening Bi-national Connections

Each of these companies, including forestry firm CMPC, plywood and molding supplier Arauco, lithium and chemical producer SQM, and protein exporter AgroSuper, are significant players and sent a representative to the roundtable. Collectively, these companies have invested over $3 billion and employ more than 1,500 people in the U.S.

The roundtable served as a platform to learn that Arauco has invested over a billion dollars in the United States, and that in 2023 CMPC acquired two mills in Kentucky, signaling further investment plans in the Southeast U.S. For CMPC, the U.S. market racks up $530 million in revenues, 40% of which comes from timber.

Local institutions represented at the event included the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Georgia Tech, among other prominent names. This gathering marks the latest in a string of South American engagements by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, a positive sign for increased international collaboration in the business world.