Chile Courts US Investors With a “Stable, Competitive” Pitch

Trade

Key Facts

—The pitch. Chile’s foreign minister told the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington that Chile is a stable, competitive place to invest.

—The programme. He presented Choose Chile, a drive to attract foreign investment and talent in mining, energy and technology.

—The offer. The sales points were lower corporate taxes, long-term tax stability and faster permitting.

—The ties. The United States is Chile’s second-largest trade partner, with two-way trade of $35.3bn, and its second-largest investor, with a stock of $29.5bn.

—The backdrop. The visit follows months of diplomatic cooling and a warming of ties under president José Antonio Kast.

Chile has taken its case for foreign investment straight to corporate America. In Washington, the country’s foreign minister urged US executives to pour more money into what he called a stable and competitive economy, armed with the promise of lower taxes and faster permits.

The minister, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, spoke at the US Chamber of Commerce before the main American groups already invested in Chile, Diario Financiero reported. He asked them to redouble their commitments and pitched the country as a reliable partner in a volatile world.

At the centre of the trip was a government programme called Choose Chile. It is designed to attract fresh investment, companies and skilled workers, with a focus on mining, energy and technology.

The three-part offer to foreign investment

The pitch rested on three concrete measures now moving through Congress. They are a cut in corporate taxes, a guarantee of long-term stability in those tax rules, and a faster, lighter permitting system.

The minister framed the package as a modern regulatory environment. He said attracting outside capital is a priority and that Chile understands the value of rules that are competitive and predictable.

He also widened the goal beyond simply selling more abroad. The aim, he said, is to diversify markets, draw in investment, add value to exports and deepen Chile’s place in global supply chains.

Critical minerals and a reset with Washington

Critical minerals ran through the whole visit. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and a leading source of lithium, metals seen as essential to technology and the energy transition.

The minister argued Chile can help make Western supply chains more secure and resilient. At a separate think-tank event he stressed the country’s role in providing the raw materials that electric vehicles and data centres depend on.

The charm offensive follows a diplomatic thaw. Ties had cooled for a stretch, but recent high-level meetings, including with the US secretary of state, have been cast on both sides as a fresh start.

Washington echoed the warmer tone. The US secretary of state described Chile as a strong partner and said the relationship had never been stronger, language that gives the investment pitch political cover.

The trip was not all upbeat, however. The minister also raised Chilean concerns over tariffs with the US trade representative, a reminder that the commercial relationship still has friction beneath the friendly surface.

The Washington stop was one leg of a broader push. The same drive has taken Chilean ministers to Silicon Valley to meet technology giants, and the government has framed the whole effort as central to reviving growth and jobs at home.

The timing is deliberate. With the economy stalling and elections having reshaped the political map across the Andean region, the Kast government is betting that a clear, pro-investment message can set Chile apart from its neighbours in the competition for foreign capital.

What is the Choose Chile programme?

It is a government initiative to position Chile as Latin America’s most competitive base for global companies, aimed at drawing investment, advanced manufacturing, data centres and talent. The Washington leg targeted established American investors, part of a wider tour that has also courted technology firms on the US west coast.

Why does Chile matter to the United States?

Chile supplies metals that are central to the energy transition and to advanced technology, above all copper and lithium. That gives Washington a strong interest in secure access, and gives Santiago leverage to court American capital and deeper trade ties.

Will the foreign investment push actually work?

Much depends on whether the tax and permitting reforms clear a divided Congress, since investors will want to see the promised rules become law. The strong existing US presence gives the pitch a solid base, but a stalled economy and political uncertainty remain real obstacles.