The repercussions in Chile of the Economic Depression of the early 30's were proof to the producers and businesspeople of the period of the importance of counting with an entity that could represent them in front of the uncertainty of the economic policies and, especially, the legislative norms which were intended to regularize the difficult relations between capital and work. The corporate and commercial sectors decided to act in unison through a solid spokesperson with the power to negotiate before the Government. This initiative was proposed by the National Agriculture Society, the Industrial Development Society, the Chamber of Commerce of Chile (Santiago), the Central Chamber of Commerce (Valparaíso), the Employers Labor Association, and the Chamber of Retail.

In November 1933, these institutions held a meeting at the social premises of the Chilean Employers Labour Association and representatives of the different branches of the production entities attended. The objective was to attempt to create an entity to group them. The conclusions of this first meeting were analyzed the following month in a new session at the Employers Labour Association in which delegates from the National Agriculture Society, the Industrial Development Society, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Timber Dealers participated. Several more sessions were held and in January 1934 the foundations for a confederation of the production and commercial sectors were established.

In a convention held in June 1934, in which the representatives of agriculture, mining, industries, wholesale and retail, and maritime and land transport companies met, the Confederation of Production and Commerce was formally created with the object of grouping the productive forces so as to be able to participate at the Governmental level in all the matters related to the areas of economic activity. Its aim was to create a National Economic Council in which the trade unions and public authorities would be represented. The agricultural leader Jaime García-Moreno was elected President.

The Manifesto of the Confederation of Production and Commerce was written on that occasion and it noted that the "economic, political and social upheavals of the last years had seriously damaged the stability of the country, and that the continuance of the state of things and the threat of it worsening, had led working men to define their responsibilities and abandon the passivity which they had maintained until then". Added to this, was the fact that the tendency in the world was for the industrial elements to participate in the management of the economy, which was the central idea that directed the objectives of the Confederation.

In March 1935, the Confederation was granted legal status. Its Central Council was constituted by 48 members who represented, in groups of 12, the manufacturing industries (Sofofa), agriculture (SNA), mining (Sonami), and commerce (Chambers). The Executive Committee was assigned the initiative of executing the work required to achieve its objectives.

In 1964, the private sector continued to strengthen its ties in order to confront the deep economic changes that the new Government was planning to make. By means of an initiative of the Industrial Development Society, the Chilean Chamber of Construction was invited to be part of the Confederation of Production and Commerce which became official in 1967.

In 1979, the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions entered as the sixth official Branch of the Confederation.