As is described in detail in the half-yearly update to Trade Trend Estimates — Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s exports grew at a year-on-year rate of 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018. This represents a downturn in comparison with the average growth of 11.9 percent of 2017, which marked the end of four continuous years of contraction. Growth in Latin … [Read more...] about Growth Slowdown: The impact of external risks
Trade Facilitation
The Spaghetti Bowl and International Supply Chains
Latin America regional integration can be characterized by the co-existence of multiple trade agreements: there are 33 of these in total, their membership is limited in scope, and they generally act as separate silos which lack important interconnections between them. Common sense indicates that while this “spaghetti bowl” of agreements might encourage production linkages … [Read more...] about The Spaghetti Bowl and International Supply Chains
Waste not, want not: Strengthening LAC agrifood exports through robust cold chain logistics
The global food industry loses a staggering amount annually: US$750 billion. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), roughly 55 percent of post-harvest fruit and vegetables are lost, mostly due to problems arising during storage, packaging, and distribution. At the same time, high logistics costs hurt trade in food and agriculture, increasing final prices by 30 percent to 100 … [Read more...] about Waste not, want not: Strengthening LAC agrifood exports through robust cold chain logistics
Increasing the Involvement of Latin American Companies in Global Value Chains
The fragmentation of production processes is an enormous opportunity for countries and companies wishing to put themselves on the global manufacturing and export map What might a vehicle part, a jacket with motion sensors for gaming, a quinoa harvest, or software for managing dairy cattle have in common? All these goods and services are “Made in the Americas,” a marketing … [Read more...] about Increasing the Involvement of Latin American Companies in Global Value Chains
Why Orderly Relations with Neighboring Countries Are Important for Trade
To learn more about this issue, see chapter 6 of Out Of the Border Labyrinth, a report published by the IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector, and IDB Working Paper series no. IDB-WP-704, “Transit Trade.” International transit systems International trade between neighboring countries is dominated by overland transportation, whereby goods are frequently shipped through … [Read more...] about Why Orderly Relations with Neighboring Countries Are Important for Trade