Over the last 20 years, Korea has become one of Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) most dynamic trade partners. Bilateral trade quadrupled, reaching US$43 billion in 2018, and foreign direct investment from Korea in LAC has both increased and diversified. Korea is the Asian economy with the largest network of free trade agreements with LAC countries, with a total of … [Read more...] about Boosting trade cooperation with Korea
Trade Facilitation
How blockchain can make trade safer
Blockchain can be used in small ways to have big impacts. Our work with four customs agencies is an example. First, some background on this technology before getting into the details. Blockchain can help us trust the information we are given. Knowing that the data is true and hasn’t been tampered with is a big deal in everything from food labels to financial … [Read more...] about How blockchain can make trade safer
Promoting E-Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean
E-commerce is an opportunity to make the global trading system more inclusive. It allows micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to access new markets and consumers, break through geographic barriers, and cut down on intermediaries and transaction costs. An increase in e-commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean would improve the region’s competitiveness by … [Read more...] about Promoting E-Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean
Short-sea shipping: A solution to Caribbean logistics challenges?
Caribbean islands face significant competitive disadvantages in trade because of a variety of factors — including the size and nature of their economies and their geographic location, which necessitates a reliance on maritime and air transport for most of their import and export needs, with 90 percent of goods being transported by sea. At the same time, maritime transport and … [Read more...] about Short-sea shipping: A solution to Caribbean logistics challenges?
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