In practically every country in the world, the percentage of large companies that export is much higher than the share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that do so. This is due, among other factors, to the fact that large companies tend to have higher profit margins than SMEs and can thus underwrite the additional costs associated with the export process (e.g., … [Read more...] about Indirect Exports: A Simple Route to Internationalization for SMEs?
Trade Facilitation
How Can Latin America and the Caribbean Improve Trade Relations with China?
The 10th China-LAC Business Summit, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) will start this Friday, October 14, in Tangshan, China. The summit aims to strengthen and expand trade relations between China, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with panel discussions by business executives and … [Read more...] about How Can Latin America and the Caribbean Improve Trade Relations with China?
Where to get trade and market access data for Latin America and the Caribbean?
Last September we held a live webinar (in Spanish) to present the INTrade website. The presentation focused on the visualization tools of the system, and showed the basic queries that give access to the specific data that may be of use to whoever seeks to learn more about trade flows and the barriers and opportunities in regional trade. If you missed the webinar, you can watch … [Read more...] about Where to get trade and market access data for Latin America and the Caribbean?
The RTA Exchange: Why Now?
At ICTSD, for a number of years we have been closely studying the nature and evolution of today’s global trade and investment system, which is best described using Keohane and Victor’s “regime complex” conceptualization. The principles, norms, rules, and procedures of the quasi-universal multilateral trade system embodied by the GATT-World Trade Organization (WTO) and its … [Read more...] about The RTA Exchange: Why Now?
Brazil: Why Is Opening Up So Hard to Do?
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?