A comparative guide to the Chile-United States Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement: a study by the Tripartite Committee

Includes bibliography

Política comercial y transformación productiva = Trade policy and changing production patterns

Add.1 corresponde a la versión editada en inglés de la Parte V: Consideraciones finales

Políticas comerciales y compromisos en la Organización Mundial del Comercio = Trade policies and commitments in the World Trade Organization

Incluye Bibliografía

Memorandum sobre facilitación del comercio y de su documentación en América Latina = Memorandum on trade facilitation and documentation in Latin America

Incluye Bibliografía

Information technologies in trade facilitation and their use by msmes

This issue of the Bulletin is based on the material presented at the seminar Information Technology for Development of Small and Medium-sized Exporters in East Asia and Latin America, which was held on 23 and 24 November 2004 at the headquarters of ECLAC in Santiago, Chile. The seminar was part of the project entitled Comparative Study on East Asian and Latin American IT Industry, financed by the thematic fund for information and communication technologies (ICT) for development of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has been carried out in close collaboration with the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), an organization that belongs to the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO). This article contains a discussion of the concepts, definitions and standards associated with electronic commerce, as well as the opportunities to be seized and the challenges to be met so that MSMEs can expand their electronic business.

Trade facilitation and Central American integration: Customs modernization

The development of trade facilitation and regional integration is closely linked to the efficiency of public services and the competitiveness of the companies that support export activity. The importance of trade facilitation measures has been emphasized in various issues of the FAL Bulletin. On this occasion the subject is be discussed from the point of view of regional integration, and a case in Central America is considered of particular interest. El Salvador and Guatemala, by integrating their electronic systems for obtaining export licenses, have been able to reduce waiting times significantly. In Guatemala, in December 2000, there was a waiting time of 24 hours, whereas in November 2004 the procedure took 1.5 minutes via the Internet. This issue of the Bulletin is based on research into electronic government initiatives related to foreign trade, which is being conducted by the International Trade and Integration Division.

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

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena.

Regional integration in the Caribbean: The role of trade agreements and structural transformation

Despite having relatively open economies and a dedicated strategic focus on export expansion, Caribbean economies still account for a small proportion of global trade (goods and services). This paper therefore posits that the subregion adopt a new dais of regional integration, which favours deeper trade and economic integration with countries which are the region’s natural trading partners.

Macroeconomic trade-offs and external vulnerabilities of human development in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is making progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, but is set to miss a number of targets in 2015. This paper’s general equilibrium analysis shows that it is unfeasible for the government to step up spending in order to meet these targets by the 2015 deadline. Any boost to public spending and financing would have to be front-loaded, which would entail pernicious macroeconomic trade-offs. A more realistic scenario would be to postpone meeting the goals until 2020. In that case, the allocation of public spending would spur economic growth without causing macroeconomic hardships, although the country would nevertheless remain highly vulnerable to external shocks.

Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation Survey 2015

The Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation 2014-2015 is a global effort led by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in collaboration with the other four United Nations Regional Commissions, namely, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The goal of the Global Survey is to gather information from the member states of the respective Regional Commissions on trade facilitation and paperless trade measures and strategies implemented at the national and regional levels. The results of the survey will enable countries and development partners to better understand and monitor progress on trade facilitation, support evidence-based public policies, share best practices and identify capacity building and technical assistance needs.

Relaciones laborales y estrategias de renta en los enclaves minerometalúrgicos de Pará

RESUMEN: A partir de los marcos teóricos sociológicos del Sistema-mundo y de las interpretaciones globalistas, este escrito se basa en un estudio a nivel micro sociológico sobre las relaciones laborales en los enclaves minero-metalúrgicos de la Amazonia oriental. En el contexto de la nueva división internacional del trabajo, se analizan las estrategias sindicales y las condiciones de subsistencia de la mano de obra y sus familias. Desde el punto de vista metodológico se ha confeccionado un mapa a dos niveles: la “actividad situada”, y la “subjetivización de la actividad”. La “actividad situada”, focaliza la perspectiva de los sindicatos y las asociaciones de trabajadores a partir de las estrategias de acción. La “subjetivización de la actividad” se refiere a las interpretaciones subjetivas y las estrategias de renta adoptadas por la mano de obra empleada.