رشد موافقت نامه های تجاری زیر منطقه ای در آمریکا: یک ارزیابی تحلیلی از مسایل کلیدی و سیاست

This article provides an overview of the realities and reasons for proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and then proceeds to assess the evidence from the region as regards the following key analytical and policy issues raised by proliferation: has trade diversion been a serious problem in the RTAs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) engaged by LAC countries? Have RTAs been able to make more progress in liberalization than multilateral negotiations, or allowed member countries to integrate more deeply? Has proliferation in Latin America diverted attention away from multilateral negotiations? What problems have been created by overlaps between RTAs and how significant these problems have been? Have RTAs contributed to domestic policy reform and, if so, how? What has been the role of macro- and micro-economic policies in RTAs? Finally, the paper summarizes the main conclusions and challenges posed by proliferation of RTAs in Latin America.

Latin America has been one of the most active regions in the world in the recent proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) among members of the WTO. The region has used multiple paths to trade policy reform and the enlargement of its markets: unilateral liberalization, multilateral engagement in the WTO, sub-regional and bilateral trade agreements. The region is also facing important challenges in the next stage of competitive insertion in the international economic system. Given its long experience with old type RTAs and the reactivation of regionalism under new principles in the 1990s, Latin America is a source of important evidence and lessons, particularly for other regions such as Asia Pacific where trade agreements are beginning to proliferate (Dutta, 1999; Scollay & Gilbert, 2001).

LAC countries have pursued a multiplicity of objectives in negotiating RTAs: market access; investment attraction; strengthening domestic policy reform; positive signaling to investors; increased bargaining power vis-à-vis third countries; political, security or strategic linkage objectives; and the use of regional agreements for tactical purposes in seeking to achieve multilateral objectives. The hallmark of the New Regionalism in the region is, however, the interest to link up with the United States and Canada, the larger and most developed economies in the Hemisphere. From this perspective, RTAs are an instrument by which economies, particularly smaller ones, compete to improve their investment climate and attracting FDI. Political and strategic rationales have also guided the LAC countries’ engagement in RTAs, with variations depending on the specific groupings and level of aggregation of countries.