Chile Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in chile, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling Factors and Techniques
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Trade Promotion and Advertising

The Reuters Digital News Report 2025 shows that social media has become the most popular news medium, as the use of print media and television continues to decline in line with global trends. Most, if not all, print, television, and radio news outlets have online portals, and ten percent of Chile’s population pays for online news. Increasingly, Chilean businesses are turning to online sources and social media for advertising purposes, especially since several traditional media outlets ended their operations in 2018 and 2019. As cited in Statista, overall digital advertising spending tripled between 2017 and 2022 in large part due to the rise of social media.[1] According to Statista, the most popular social media sites are WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.[2] Chileans are very active on social platforms, making influencer marketing and sponsored content popular. Messaging that is localized to Chilean culture is well-received. Online marketplaces like Mercado Libre, Falabella, and Ripley also offer integrated ad platforms for brands. Google dominates search traffic, causing many companies to invest in Google Ads and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for local Spanish-language keywords. At the same time, the growth of big tech has threatened the revenues of traditional Chilean media, which relies on advertising for financial stability. Chilean media has pursued legal action against tech giants like Google for selecting which news content to appear in search results.

Print, Online and Broadcast Media

Chile has approximately 50 print newspapers nationwide. El Mercurio and La Tercera are considered the most influential. Diario Financiero covers economic news. Distribution can vary from 380,000 copies of a Sunday edition of El Mercurio to just 3,000 copies of a regional paper. Radio is the country’s most trusted news medium, led by Radio BioBio. There are approximately 2,600 radio stations nationwide. Chile has four free-to-air television networks. The largest is state-owned, but self-funded Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN), that also operates 24-hour news station 24Horas. Other networks are all privately owned, such as CNN Chile, that has essentially a franchise relationship with CNN US, which does not have editorial control.

Pricing

Pricing in Chile starts with a straightforward formula based on Cost, Insurance and Freight Import (CIF) value: costs plus generally constant ship-to-warehouse expenses. Gross margins for consumer goods range from 30 to 50 percent or more for direct sales to consumers, or 20 to 30 percent each for the importer/distributor and the retailer when a distribution chain is in place. The final price for mass-market items should be competitive with imports from Asia and Brazil. Higher-priced items must identify niche market segments and an excellent value proposition to prosper. More specialized products are sold by stocking distributors or by commissioned agents who generally earn margins of 5 - 10 percent on their sales.

Under the U.S.-Chile FTA, tariffs were eliminated on most goods imported from the United States. However, all goods, both foreign and domestic, are subject to Chile’s value added tax (called “IVA” in Spanish), which has been 19 percent since October 1, 2003. Any tariff and value added tax is usually paid by the importer and not by the supplier. There are some exceptions: sporting and cultural events, freight services, educational events, international transport services, and real estate services do not pay these taxes, and some luxury goods have higher tariffs.

Sales Service/Customer Support

Customer service and support are fundamental to successfully acquiring and retaining market segments for most products and services. Any product that requires operator training or needs after sales technical service must have a qualified local company ready and able to assist the customer. Due to Chile’s relatively close-knit society, company reputations can be made or lost in a fairly short period of time.

Local Professional Services

Chile’s business environment and infrastructure are well-developed. There are many local companies that can provide professional services to U.S. firms.

The U.S. Commercial Service may be able to refer U.S. companies to service providers that offer legal, financial, administrative/human resource, transportation, hotel, consulting, and market research services. These firms provide support to companies initiating or expanding business in Chile. Please contact the U.S. Commercial Service for more information.

Principal Business Associations

An additional method vital to the success of conducting business in Chile is to contact the multitude of principle business associations. Nearly every industry in Chile has its own professional association. With information and expertise in the various business sectors, insights from professional associations can help in understanding the market, expanding a company’s contact network, and launching an expansion into the Chilean market.

  • Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura - National Society of Agriculture, SNA
  • Corporación de Desarrollo Technológico – Technological Development Corporation, CDT
  • Asociación de Exportadores de Frutas – Fruit Exporters Association, ASOEX
  • Asociación Gremial de Industriales Gráficos – Graphics Industry Association, ASIMPRES
  • Cámara Cosmética - Chilean Chamber of Cosmetics
  • Chile Telcos – Association of Chilean Telecommunications Companies
  • Chile Data Centers
  • Confederation of Production and Commerce: Umbrella organization for the main business guilds (like Sofofa, SNA, Sonami, etc.), CPC
  • Vinos de Chile A.G.: Represents the country’s main wine producers and exporters
  • Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage: Represents the clean energy sector, ACERA
  • National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Chile: Represents the commerce, retail, and tourism sectors, CNC
  • Asociación de AFP de Chile: Represents pension fund administrators
  • Asociación de Emprendedores de Chile: Represents entrepreneurs and small businesses, ASECH
  • Asociación de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras: Represents the banking sector, ABIF


Limitations on Selling U.S. Products and Services

There are no major limitations for selling U.S. products or services. However, when bidding through ChileCompra, the government procurement agency, U.S. companies must have a Chilean tax identification number (RUT) that can be aquired at Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), the Chilean IRS equivalent. While it is not a requirement for U.S. companies to have a direct presence in Chile to receive a RUT, a direct presence or a local representative is recommended for bidding on public procurements. U.S. companies have reported difficulty in responding to Chilean government tenders without a RUT.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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