Main trade trends, trade policy and integration in the greater Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Comercio internacional y desempeño económico: indicadores seleccionados para economías pequeñas

Incluye anexos

Report on the production of trade statistics in the Caribbean region

Includes bibliography

Canada's trade and investment with Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean trade developments, 2002

This document provides an overview of the most relevant developments in United States trade policy relating to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2002. U.S. policy continued to promote trade liberalization through advancing negotiations on multiple fronts- globally (WTO), regionally (FTAA) and bilaterally or sub regionally- with a view that the various negotiations are mutually reinforcing and seek to create a constructive competition for liberalization" among trade partners. The passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) included in the Trade Act of August 2002 enhanced the U.S. Administration's ability to negotiate trade agreements. It provided an impetus to conclude bilateral negotiations with Chile as well as to advance a number of trade agreements currently under negotiation, including negotiations toward the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and bilateral negotiations with Central America. The Trade Act also renewed the Generalized System of Preferences, extended the Caribbean Trade Partnership Act by liberalizing apparel provisions and augmented the Andean Trade Preference Act, increasing the list of duty free products. On the multilateral front, in partial fulfillment of the Doha mandate, the U.S. tabled in 2002 two comprehensive proposals for the reduction of trade barriers on agricultural and non-agricultural goods. Along with these trade liberalizing proposals, the U.S. Administration imposed temporary safeguard measures on key steel products to provide relief to the sectors of the steel industry that have been most affected by import surges. In addition, the U.S. Congress passed the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act that substantially increased U.S. domestic farm subsidies to shield domestic farm producers from competition from subsidized products from abroad."

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean: trade developments 2003

Includes bibliography

Trade and industrial policies: past performance and future prospects

Includes bibliography

Modernization of Customs and Implementation of Single Window Systems for Foreign Trade: Results of an International Seminar-Workshop

An international seminar-workshop entitled "Facilitation of trade and transport in Latin America: situation and outlook" was held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on 29 and 30 November 2005, organized jointly by the ECLAC Division of International Trade and Integration and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The event was attended by about 50 persons involved in customs modernization and/or the implementation of single window systems for foreign trade in 20 Ibero-American countries.The main purpose of the seminar-workshop was to exchange ideas, opinions and proposals concerning the efficient implementation of trade facilitation instruments. The conclusions reached at this event point to the need to seek convergence among the existing trade agreements associated with trade facilitation in Latin America. Customs modernization requires the re-design of processes and procedures in order to achieve interoperability among the systems, and single window systems for foreign trade can only be implemented successfully if clear political leadership is established with broad participation from both public and private organizations.

ECLAC Notes Nº 46

Regional Energy Integration Looks Distant But Could be Crucial WTO and Free Trade Agreement Dispute Settlement Mechanisms Progress OPINION Central America: Poor Terms for the Terms of Trade, by José Luis Machinea HIGHLIGHTS Integration Schemes in Crisis and the Convergence of Trade Agreements, by Osvaldo Rosales INDICATORS: Economic Growth and Employment Direct Action in Favour of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendents Rises Recent Titles Calendar

The international trade position of Argentina. Towards a process of export diversification?

Includes bibliography.

Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena.

Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2014: Regional integration and value chains in a challenging external environment

The 2014 edition of Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy: Regional integration and value chains amid challenging external conditions has four chapters. Chapter I examines the main features of the international context and their repercussions for world and regional trade. Chapter II looks at Latin American and Caribbean participation in global value chains and confirms that the region, with the exception of Mexico and Central America, has only limited linkages with the three major regional value chains of Asia, Europe and North America. This chapter also looks at how participation in value chains may contribute to more inclusive structural change, by analysing three core microeconomic aspects. Chapter III identifies various spheres in which regional integration and cooperation can help strengthen production integration between the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. The fourth chapter explores the intra- and extraregional trade relations of the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and considers how to strengthen production integration in the subregion by taking advantage of linkages beyond trade and building on commercial and production complementarities among the members. The chapter also reviews the differences between the countries in terms of income, population and production and export structure, in a context of marked macroeconomic vulnerability.

The impact of China’s incursion into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on intra-industry trade

China has become a major player in world trade. Although it has not signed any trade agreements with the countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), China has been gaining ground as a supplier of goods, making vigorous inroads into this area. One of the dominant trends in economic integration has been the development of intra-industry trade, which has flourished in the nafta signatory countries. This paper focuses on the analysis of intra-industry trade in the context of this free trade area, where the production structure of the countries involved has changed significantly since trade liberalization, revealing the internationalization of production chains. Lastly, changes in the trade structure induced by the growing presence of China in the nafta region are captured. Trade within this area works like a radiated wheel, with the United States acting as the axis, while China, Canada and Mexico operate as the spokes.

The Geography of Brazilian External Trade: Right Option for a BRIC?

Words can make a difference sometimes.Brazil is – together with the other ´BRIC´- a large economy, with an increasingly high profile in the international scenario. Large domestic market makes it more likely to obtain ‘growth-led exports’ rather than ‘export-led growth’, which implies a pro-active role in international relations. The option for intensifying regional trade links is a reasonable one and perhaps even inevitable, taking into account the experience elsewhere, but the actual regional conditions raise a number of questions that have to do both with further empirical assessment and to more specific identification of expectations with regard to probable achievements. This article has shown that the road to reach significant progress in this direction is not flat and requires more clear signalling to economic agents, strong political will and a good deal of specific measures. But it has also suggested that it might provide positive results.

Globalización, integración y comercio inclusivo en América Latina. Textos seleccionados 2010-2014

En el actual contexto de globalización económica, el tema de la inserción internacional de la región cobra una renovada importancia. La presente publicación, la segunda de la colección “Páginas Selectas de la CEPAL”, contiene extractos de documentos publicados desde 2010 y que abordan diversos aspectos de dicha temática. Entre éstos se destacan la participación regional en las cadenas mundiales y regionales de valor, la irrupción de China como un socio comercial crecientemente influyente, los logros y desafíos pendientes del proceso de integración regional en su vertiente económica y comercial, y las posibles implicancias para América Latina y el Caribe de las negociaciones comerciales megarregionales actualmente en curso. Como trasfondo de todos los textos seleccionados se encuentra el vínculo entre la participación regional en el comercio internacional y el logro de un crecimiento inclusivo. Este último se entiende como un crecimiento capaz de contribuir a la reducción de la heterogeneidad estructural mediante un aumento del empleo, la productividad y el ingreso, mejorando el bienestar de la mayoría y reduciendo la desigualdad