Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 1999-2000

Abstract

The 1999-2000 edition of Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy is divided into four sections.

The first section (chapters I and II) examines the international situation and describes the main trends observed in the global economy between early 1999 and the middle of 2000. This discussion concerns the uncertainties generated by the integration of national economies, the structural components of recent growth in the industrialized countries and the challenges and opportunities that they pose for development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also explores the structural transformation of international trade, major dynamic trade flows, changes resulting from the dominant role systematically played by transnational corporations and the close link between trade and foreign direct investment.

The second section, which deals with trade and trade policy in Latin America and the Caribbean and problems of access to major importing markets (chapters III, IV and V), focuses on trade patterns in 1998-1999 and assesses the trade performance of the countries of the region during the past decade (1990-1999). Chapter IV reviews some of the trade policies of a selected group of countries in the region based on the World Trade Organization's Trade Policy Review Mechanism reports. Chapter V looks at some of the barriers that hinder entry into the United States market for exports from the region.

The third section (chapters VI and VII) starts out with an analysis of regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years and then goes on to review the concepts and practices referred to as 'open regionalism' in the light of the experiences of Asia and the Pacific and of Latin America.

The fourth and last section (chapters VIII, IX and X) examines some of the imbalances present in WTO rights and obligations, unresolved problems regarding access to the markets of industrialized countries and the commitments made by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services.