USAID LAC Trade Update - October 2004
A. Trade Negotiation Update
Andean FTA -- U.S. Meets with Andean Representatives
The fourth round of talks between the U.S. and the Andean
countries on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was held Sept.
15-17 in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. met with representatives of the individual nations
(Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) as well as the Andean
group as a whole to address trade capacity building (TCB)
needs in preparation for a potential FTA agreement. Areas
of TCB assistance covered included civil society outreach,
customs, and business development.
International Trade Patterns Shift
International trade patterns have changed in two significant
areas since 1985, according to a June report from the World
Trade Organization (WTO). They are: a) Growth in the services
trade no longer outstrips growth in goods; and b) Agriculture
trade has shifted towards processed products and away from
commodities.
The report runs in the face of perception that commercial
services trade is growing faster than trade in goods. “Indeed
trade in commercial services expanded faster than goods trade
in the second half of the 1980’s, but thereafter the
report is mixed,” according to the WTO report.
Between 1990-2003, trade in commercial services and goods
grew by about six percent per year and therefore the services’
share of international trade remained at
about 20 percent over the period. “Overall there is
no indication that the services categories in general have
increased their share in international trade,” according
to the report. The fastest growing sectors are industrial
products (e.g. manufactures) and new services (computer and
information, financial, insurance, telecommunications and
cultural/recreational). Sectors growing slower than the average
included transport, agricultural goods and mining products.
Agriculture Institute Calls for “Redefintion”
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
(IICA) recently called for closer relations with its 34 member
countries. It further said it should undertake a “process
of renewal, reflection, redefinition and evaluation”
to ensure that its work programs are consistent with national
objectives.
The first step is to enter into a dialog with national authorities,
the private sector, academia and civil society, said IICA
Director General Chelston Brathwaite. “The fundamental
change is that we now listen more carefully to the countries
and only do …what they truly need. We ….cannot
go to the countries with preconceived notions or ‘one
size fits all’ proposals,” he said in the recently
published report, A
21st Century Model for Technical Cooperation.
Sound Local Economies Necessary for FTA to Work
Governments cannot hope to reap benefits of open trade if
they fail to secure macroeconomic stability, infrastructure
improvements and the existence of sound institutions, according to the World
Trade Report 2004.
“These things go hand-in-hand. Failure or neglect in
one areas spells disappointment in others,” said WTO
Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi in the report.
He said that cooperation should not be forced upon governments
where there is no shared perception of common interests. He
added, “Nor should efforts to cooperate serve as a surrogate
for getting on with what needs to be done at home.”
B. TCB Resources
How Globalization Works by Martin Wolf – The
chief economics commentator for “The Financial Times”
explains the reality of globalization and reports the biggest
obstacle to global economic progress has been the failure --
not of the market -- but of politics and government.
The Case for CAFTA by Dan Griswold and Dan Ikenson
– The two trade experts from the Cato Institute argue
that the Central American Free Trade (CAFTA) does promote
freedom, development and higher standards in a region of vital
importance to the U.S.
USAID is completing its annual survey on Trade Capacity Building
(TCB) to update the TCB
database.
C. Upcoming Events
October 18-22 – Fifth round of U.S.
Panama FTA negotiations (Panama City, Panama)
October 18-19 – Synthesis
Workshop on Global Horticulture Challenges will be held
at the University of California, Davis. The workshop will
develop guidelines for a nine-month regional assessment project
in horticulture.
October 22-23 – A
Conference on Ending Hunger: Heifer at 60 will be held
in Little Rock, ARK.
October 25-29 – Fifth round of U.S.
- Andean FTA negotiations – (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
October 25-26 – Annual
Cumbre Centro-Americano: Financing Growth in a Time of Integration
– LatinFinance will sponsor the “invite only”
conference that brings
together private and public sector leaders with direct and
indirect investors.
November TBD – Sixth round of U.S.
Panama FTA negotiations (Washington, DC)
December 6-8 – The
28th Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin: An Integrated
Third Border will be held
at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. The future
of the FTA, the Caribbean Single Market and
Economy and international security measures will be discussed.
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