The popular smartphone app Waze tells you the quickest, least congested route for getting wherever it is you want to go. Few roads have been as winding as Latin America’s path to integration, which has involved progress and setbacks, bogus shortcuts, and even the occasional roadblock and picket line. So how can we work out the best route to integration? The secret of Waze’s … [Read more...] about The Integration Waze: the partnership between INTAL and Latinobarómetro and the region’s demand for integration
Regional Cooperation
The Stabilization of Prices Favored Regional Exports in 2016
According to Trade Trend Estimates: Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2016, exports from Latin America and the Caribbean have shrunk by an estimated 6%, which points to a tempering of the severe 15% contraction of 2015. Almost every country in the region saw a slowing in the pace of the contraction of foreign sales (Figure 1). Remarkably, starting from August 2016, the region … [Read more...] about The Stabilization of Prices Favored Regional Exports in 2016
5 things you need to know about inclusive rules of origin and why it will affect trade
Two weeks ago, the IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector (INT) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) hosted a Dialogue on inclusive Rules of Origin (RoO) as part of the RTA Exchange project. Rules of origin tell us where a product comes from and how that product should be treated in a particular market. The “rules” are the specific provisions … [Read more...] about 5 things you need to know about inclusive rules of origin and why it will affect trade
Latin America Needs to Adapt to the Downshift in Global Trade
According to the latest issue of the IDB’s Trade and Integration Monitor, Latin America’s exports of goods shrunk at annualized rates of 14.8% in 2015 and 8.5% in the first seven months of 2016. Likewise, exports of services contracted for the first time since the financial crisis (-2.4% in 2015). This two-year downturn marks a contraction phase that is now longer than the one … [Read more...] about Latin America Needs to Adapt to the Downshift in Global Trade
From the Andes to the World: How a Peruvian Company Conquered Global Value Chains
We’ve all heard about health benefits of “super foods” such as quinoa, chia, and amaranth, but how many of us know the stories behind the companies that make it possible for us to buy these products? Find out more about a surprising company that managed to cross borders with the help of ConnectAmericas, the online platform run by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to … [Read more...] about From the Andes to the World: How a Peruvian Company Conquered Global Value Chains