Importing From China to Chile: Duties, VAT and FTA in 2026

Chile has built its economy around openness: 35 trade agreements in force with 64 economies, covering close to 86% of global GDP, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce guide updated on November 24, 2025. China holds a special place in that network: Chile's top export market in 2024, at 37.6 billion dollars, per the same source. In return, Chinese imports cover the electronics, consumer goods, machinery and equipment that a productive base geared toward raw materials does not make locally.

San Antonio and Valparaíso, on the central coast less than two hours from Santiago, handle most of the containerized freight arriving from Asia. San Antonio topped one million TEU for the fourteenth consecutive year in 2024, with traffic above 11.8 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, according to its port authority.

The Chile-China Free Trade Agreement was signed in November 2005 in Busan, South Korea, and entered into force on October 1, 2006, according to Subrei. It was completed by a services agreement, signed in April 2008 and in force since August 2010, then by an investment agreement, signed in September 2012 in Vladivostok and in force since February 8, 2014.

A modernization protocol, signed on November 11, 2017 and approved by the Chilean Senate on September 24, 2018, entered into force in 2019, again per Subrei. This four-stage architecture makes Chile one of China's most integrated partners in South America.

Chile belongs to no customs union and applies no common external tariff: it charges a flat, autonomous national duty of 6% with no preferential regime, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce guide updated on November 24, 2025. A Chinese shipment with a certificate of origin that meets the free trade agreement's rules of origin can qualify for a reduced rate, often zero, worth checking in the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas system before signing the proforma invoice. Across all countries of origin, the World Bank calculates, from 2023 data, an average duty of 1.03% on a simple-average basis and 0.47% on a trade-weighted basis, with 81.44% of tariff lines duty-free, according to the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) tariff profile updated on December 12, 2024.

Chile's VAT applies at the standard rate of 19% to all imports, just as it does to domestic sales, per the same source. Its base is the customs value plus the duty paid. Example on a CIF value of 10,000 dollars with no preference: duty at 6%, or 600 dollars; VAT base, 10,600 dollars; VAT at 19%, or 2,014 dollars; total charge, 2,614 dollars, about 26% of the CIF value. With a valid Chinese certificate of origin and a zero preferential rate, the shipment carries only the VAT, 1,900 dollars.

The standard file includes a commercial invoice, a certificate of origin for a tariff preference, a bill of lading or air waybill, freight insurance and a packing list, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce guide updated on November 24, 2025. Food products also need a free-sale certificate from the country of origin.

The customs declaration is filed with the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas; in practice, filing goes through a licensed customs broker, the only party authorized to represent the importer. Agricultural, animal and plant products also need sanitary or phytosanitary certificates from the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG), through its advance declaration filed before arrival.

The Instituto Nacional de Normalización (INN) develops Chilean technical standards, adopts ISO and IEC standards, and accredits certification bodies, according to its website as consulted on September 27, 2026. The list of products subject to a mandatory standard, and the cost of each certification, must be checked with the INN or the relevant ministry, since no single published list covers them all.

SAG controls the entry of products of animal, plant and food origin, with border checks and certificates by category. The Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP) registers pharmaceutical products, medical devices and cosmetics before they reach the market; the procedure, timelines and costs, not confirmed here from a primary source, should be checked with the institute before any production aimed at this sector.

Chile has very few products banned or restricted from import, apart from certain agricultural products that fall under SAG, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce guide updated on November 24, 2025. The filter therefore falls on agri-food goods, not on everyday manufactured products.

Importing used vehicles falls outside the general regime: it goes through the free trade zones of Iquique and Punta Arenas, extended to Arica y Parinacota, Aysén, Magallanes and Palena province, where the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas applies specific customs exemptions, according to its website as consulted on September 27, 2026. The exact conditions should be checked with the customs administration; Sorva does not export any vehicle without a Chinese exporter holding the licenses required by China's Ministry of Commerce.

San Antonio and Valparaíso remain the two reference sea gateways for a container loaded in Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian. No published transit time could be confirmed for this article; it should be checked case by case with a freight forwarder at the time of booking.

FOB suits an importer who arranges transport directly with its own freight forwarder; CIF or CFR suit cases where an intermediary covers freight to the port of arrival. DDP is not advisable unless the seller is itself a registered customs declarant in Chile: the Chilean buyer or its agent always remains the official importer of record.

On payment, the common practice with Chinese factories remains a deposit on order followed by a balance before shipment, paid into the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account. Any change of bank details received by email should be verified by phone before any transfer: this type of fraud remains common in international sourcing.

A first order follows a simple sequence: written specifications, factory verification, an approved sample, a proforma invoice with the chosen incoterm, production follow-up, pre-shipment inspection, freight to the chosen Chilean port, and then customs clearance handled by the client or its local agent. Sorva, a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary whose corporate purpose covers buying, reselling and exporting goods, and by a parent company in France, handles every one of these steps up to freight: our Chinese-speaking team negotiates directly with factories and follows production on site.

Sorva never acts as the official importer of record in Chile and does not clear the goods through customs on arrival: that responsibility always stays with the client or its licensed customs broker. Our base offer is invoiced in dollars outside the European Union, supplemented where needed with options specific to certain regions, quoted on request.