4. The Pacific Alliance As an Instrument for Insertion into Global Value Chains: Lessons from a Progressive and Pragmatic Approach

In a world economy in which Global Value Chains (GVCs) have changed the paradigm of globalisation, we have yet to unravel the implications this has for the architecture of trade and investment agreements. The Pacific Alliance has undertaken to become a platform for more effective insertion into the Asian Pacific and global economy, and has forged new paths in ‘deep integration’ that have delivered results in unconventional ways. This chapter takes stock of some of the achievements and potential limitations of the Pacific Alliance from a Global Value Chain perspective, highlighting the importance of mobility for production factors, market access for sourcing and selling, and physical and digital connectivity as core elements of a GVC-guided integration scheme. Despite the virtues of its open regionalism model, the article questions whether the outward integration of the Pacific Alliance may need to be re-balanced with strengthened inward integration efforts.