The problem of international trade based economic development which occurs surpassing the environmental standards is reflected in the theory of pollution haven. To establish whether Chile is in fact a pollution haven we dissect the elements constituting the concept and empirically prove the presence of the phenomenon. Despite the recent restructuring of environmental protection institutions, the Chile still appears to be attractive for the polluting and natural resource extraction based industries. We employ a systematic approach based on qualitative legislation and jurisprudence analysis to prove that the structural weaknesses coupled with an active fostering of direct foreign investment evidence the pollution haven phenomenon in Chile.