USAID LAC Trade Update - May 2005
A. Updates
1. Free Trade, Not Trade Justice
-- A new report argues that free trade – not “trade
justice” – is the key solution to world poverty.
By Alex Singleton, the report argues that entities that adopt
free trade (e.g. Hong Kong) have been successful, while countries
that ascribe to “trade justice” have remained
in poverty. He said that while protecting infant industries
appears good in principle, it often translates in a way for
the rich to profit at the expense of the workers.
The full-text
of the report (pdf, 178KB) is available.
2. Growth in LAC -- Latin America and the
Caribbean (LAC) recorded growth of 5.7 percent in 2004, the
strongest growth in 24 years, according to a World Bank report
entitled, “Global
Development Finance 2005.”
The report projects growth rates of 4.3 and 3.7 percent for
2005 and 2006 respectively. This compares with the report’s
estimate of a global economic growth of 3.8 percent in 2004
– the highest in four years. It also predicts a slowdown
to 3.1 in 2005. The report blames the slowdown on anticipated
increases in U.S. interest rates, fiscal tightening and the
effects of the appreciation of the Euro.
3. Rural Investment -- LAC countries need
to invest more in rural communities to enhance national growth,
reduce poverty and stem environmental degradation, according
to a new World Bank report, entitled "Beyond
the City: the Rural Contribution to Development."
The report noted that the contribution of rural communities
to overall development is larger than commonly believed. “The
rural communities face the highest poverty rates, lack of
access to public services and private markets, and inadequate
infrastructure to realize their full potential,” World
Bank Economist Guillermo Perry said in the report.
An estimated 70 percent of the rural population lives in
poverty in Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay
and Peru, according to the report.
4. Intellectual Property -- The US has proposed
creation of a partnership program within the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) to strengthen protection of intellectual
property. Additional information on the April
11-13 meeting of WIPO.
B. Resources
1. Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook
– The World Bank sourcebook details a plan to reduce
poverty by improving the investment climate in developing
countries and empowering poor people. For information, contact
Sarah Sullivan at ssullivan1@worldbank.org.
2. Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Website for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
– Aimed at Central America, the site was created by
Michigan State University’s Partnership for Food Industry
Development and USAID Central America mission in Guatemala.
C. Upcoming dates
May 19 -- Central
America in the World Economy – International Development
Research Centre and the Asociacion de Investigacion y Estudios
Sociales will present three CAFTA studies in Miami, FL. For
information www.ca-asies.org
May 23 -- “Why Isn’t Microfinance
Reaching the Rural Areas?” at Inter-American Bank in
Washington, DC -- RSVP through mipyme@iadb.org
June 5-7 – Annual
Meeting of the Association for International Agriculture and
Rural Development in Washington, D.C.
June 25-30 – International
Food and Agribusiness Management Association meeting in
Chicago, IL, featuring “Re-inventing the Food Chain:
New Markets, Consumers and products.
June 27-29 – USAID
Workshop on Tax and Pension Reform in Washington, DC.
November 4-5 – IV
Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
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