Estimating the effects of United States food safety and agricultural health standards on agro-food exports from Latin America and the Caribbean

Food safety and agricultural health standards have become a mayor challenge for food exports from developing countries in the past few years (Jaffe & Henson, 2005; OECD, 2003; Josling, Roberts & Orden, 2004; Maskus & Wilson, 2001). As tariff rates were negotiated down in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in regional and bilateral trade agreements, international trade in agro-food products increased substantially and so did concerns over food safety and agricultural health in food importing countries. Several countries, including the U.S, started to pay closer at…

Transaction costs in the transportation sector and infrastructure in North America: exploring harmonization of standards

Since the implementation in 1994 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, trade between the three North American countries has almost tripled. However there are substantial impediments for the efficient freight movements between the three countries. Major obstacles derived from transaction costs which reduce and sometimes eliminate the benefits gained from the removal of tariffs resulting from NAFTA. The paper analyzes North American truck, rail and maritime trade and transportation characteristics and operations that serve as the foundation to identify and quantify transaction costs caus…

Productive development in open economies

Presentation The countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region have shown a keen and lasting interest in mechanisms of economic development and public policies for its promotion. This is a process in which ECLAC has been involved ever since it was founded over half a century ago. Today, the debate on these issues continues against the backdrop of a globalization process in which the remarkable dynamism of some dimensions -especially its economic, financial and cultural aspects- contrasts with the slow formation of an institutional network capable of coping with the increased interdepend…

Progress made in the implementation of the CARICOM single market and economy

This paper examines the progress in the implementation of the CSME and what this has meant for the core (trade, investment, etc.); and functional aspects (foreign policy coordination, education, health and social development, etc.,); of integration. A tentative assessment is also made of the relevance of the current mode of integration in light of the opportunities and constraints of the international environment. The paper is divided into three sections. Section one provides a critical assessment of the implementation of the protocols and other aspects of the CSME. Section two evaluates the …

Integration and trade diversion

Regional integration has once again become an important issue for Latin America and the Caribbean. Compared with previous experiences, however, recent integration commitments have a number of new aspects in such areas as negotiating procedures, the issues involved in the various agreements -some of which are as unprecedented as the adoption of common currencies, the creation of binational companies, common labour laws, etc.- and the actual timing of these steps. Among the various integration initiatives now being pursued, four are particularly important by virtue of the relative weight of the …

Competitividad, sostenibilidad e inclusión social en la agricultura: nuevas direcciones en el diseño de políticas en América Latina y el Caribe

En el presente libro se intenta encontrar respuestas a preguntas referidas al desarrollo agrícola que se repiten, con variaciones, en investigaciones y foros de políticas; por ejemplo, ¿cómo incrementar la competitividad de las agriculturas regionales, disminuyendo al mismo tiempo la inequidad social y la pobreza? ¿Cómo hacer más sostenible este proceso de desarrollo de la agricultura? ¿Cuáles son los esquemas institucionales más apropiados para impulsar el desarrollo agropecuario y del mundo rural? ¿Cuál es el rol de los actores sociales en las nuevas estructuras de gobernanza? Para responder…

Maritime transport liberalization and the challenges to further its implementation in Chile

The liberalization of Maritime Transport is one important element to increase the export competitiveness of a country. In fact, studies remark that, for some countries, the effective rate of protection by the costs of transport is much higher than that of tariffs. One of the most relevant elements in the determination of the costs of maritime transport refers to the efficient management of ports. The global trend towards trade liberalization and integration and economic interdependence led Latin American countries to opt for programs of economic reforms that incorporated the participation of d…

Trade and maritime transport between Africa and South America

Summary Trade between Africa and South America is of relatively minor importance for each region. The main purpose of this report is to determine if a scarcity of maritime transport services could explain this comparative unimportance. More than half of all trade between the two regions is accounted for by just ten specific bilateral flows in petroleum, grain, iron ore, coal, and sugar. Almost all inter-regional trade moves by sea, mostly by non-liner charter shipping services. Trade between Africa and South America is subject to relatively low freight rates, mainly due to the type of produ…

Trade between Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Central American Common Market (CACM) countries: the role to play for ports and shipping services

Abstract Trade between the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is very low. Only 0.2% of the two groups' trade is between them. A possible explanation for this might be a supposed lack of adequate transport services. This report analyzes if there exists a potential to promote inter-subregional trade by improving transport services. It is found that in fact there does not exist a lack of direct services. 17% of services that call in one of the subregions also call in the other. In addition, due to the increase in transshipment services, a…

Implications of the Termination of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) for Latin America and the Caribbean

The impacts of quota elimination under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) applicable since 1 January 2005 are already becoming apparent on Latin American and Caribbean countries' exports to the United States ; despite vastly different performances from country to country, the region as a whole experienced a reduction in market share, in contrast to a marked increase by China . In theory, if this rhythm of growth were to be sustained, the market share of United States imports from China in this sector could increase or even surpass the 50% mark in the next three years. …

Caribbean SIDS Prepare for Johannesburg 2002 - The World Summit on Sustainable Development

Strategies for Post COVID-19 Recovery in the Caribbean