When you think about trade policy in Brazil, the first question that comes to mind is “Why is the country taking so long to open up its economy? Why it such a laggard?” After all, Brazil still has one of the highest import tariffs in the world, very few trade agreements to speak off, and its trade liberalization—one of the last to take off in the region (if not in the … [Read more...] about Brazil: Why Is Opening Up So Hard to Do?
Global Value Chains: Logistics… It’s Only Logical
The role of transportation and logistical infrastructure in global value chains* Basso is a motor valve manufacturer based in Rafaela, Argentina. The company is part of the international value chains of brands like Toyota, Ford, and Ferrari. To meet their commitments to just-on-time delivery, Basso coordinates product storage, transportation, and inventory down to the tiniest … [Read more...] about Global Value Chains: Logistics… It’s Only Logical
The Six New Technologies That Will Have the Greatest Impact on Trade
Adidas is one of the most important sports apparel companies in the world. This year, it announced that it will start manufacturing shoes in Germany again, where its headquarters is. Its six major subcontractors in China have many reasons to be concerned about this: their competitiveness will no longer be guaranteed by their low labor costs. This is because Adidas’s new … [Read more...] about The Six New Technologies That Will Have the Greatest Impact on Trade
How a Brazilian company conquered an international value chain
Daterra is a Brazilian coffee producer with a business model that includes a large-scale production with socio-environmental responsibility. Daterra took advantage of the arrival in Brazil of Illy caffè, an international reference in terms of quality, to partner in research, improve the quality of its grain and enter the international production chain of the Italian company. It … [Read more...] about How a Brazilian company conquered an international value chain
Innovation and export diversification: how to renew the regional agenda with China
In 1976, each Chinese citizen was earning US$ 160 a year on average. Forty years later the same annual income is US$ 4,000: it multiplied itself by 25. The question for Latin America is immediate: how did they do it? Other remarkable details of China's development: migration from the countryside to cities led to build 100 cities with capacity to accommodate at least one million … [Read more...] about Innovation and export diversification: how to renew the regional agenda with China