How do Latin Americans feel about international trade? Are they in favor of it? If so, to what extent? We asked these questions ourselves at the Inter-American Development Bank, as part of a study on how trade liberalization has impacted Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in recent decades. To answer these questions, the IDB added a module on foreign trade to the 2018 … [Read more...] about Latin Americans: On Board with Trade
Innovations transforming the food and beverage industry
By 2050, the production of food will need to grow about 70% to meet the demand of more than 9 billion people from around the world. And as one of the largest net global exporters of food, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will have immense opportunities to tap this growing market. LAC is expected to average a 2.6% food and beverage industry growth from 2016-2021, ahead … [Read more...] about Innovations transforming the food and beverage industry
How the Pacific Alliance linked up its single windows for foreign trade
One of the goals of the Pacific Alliance (PA), the economic bloc made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, is achieving an area of deep integration where goods and services are traded tariff-free without facing other barriers to trade. To this end, in addition to eliminating tariffs, now covering more than 98% products on average, the PA has implemented innovative trade … [Read more...] about How the Pacific Alliance linked up its single windows for foreign trade
The European Union and Mercosur, a Historic and Promising Deal
When the European Union (EU) and Mercosur recently announced their free trade agreement after 20 years of negotiations, we were elated. This pact cements a historic opportunity for the four Southern Cone countries to grow their economies, internationalize their companies, be more competitive, and add new jobs. The deal is one of the world’s largest, comparable in size to … [Read more...] about The European Union and Mercosur, a Historic and Promising Deal
Making trade more efficient with blockchain
International trade is of critical importance for economic and social development worldwide. A major cost of global trade is the regulatory requirement of submitting large volumes of information to governmental authorities to comply with import, export, and transit-related documents and certificates. Trade Single Windows are flagship initiatives that reduce these … [Read more...] about Making trade more efficient with blockchain