{ "id": "98-840", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "98-840", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 378739, "date": "2011-02-08", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T01:05:49.146484", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "Trade is one of the more enduring issues in contemporary U.S.-Latin America relations. Latin America is far from the largest U.S. regional trade partner, but historically is the fastest-growing one. Between 1998 and 2009, total U.S. merchandise trade (exports plus imports) with Latin America grew by 82% compared to 72% for Asia (driven largely by China), 51% for the European Union, 221% for Africa, and 64% for the world. Mexico composed 11.7% of total U.S. merchandise trade in 2009 and is the largest Latin American trade partner. It accounted for 58% of the region\u2019s trade with the United States, the result of a long history of economic integration between the two countries. By contrast, the rest of Latin America together makes up only 8.3% of U.S. trade, half of which is trade with Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.\nLatin American countries have made noted progress in trade liberalization, reducing tariffs significantly and entering into their own regional agreements. This development presented an opportunity for the United States, which has supported deeper regional integration because it has been widely viewed as beneficial for both economic and foreign policy reasons. The United States has implemented comprehensive bilateral or plurilateral reciprocal trade agreements with most of its important trade partners in Latin America. These include the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), and bilateral FTAs with Chile and Peru. FTAs with Panama and Colombia have been signed but not implemented, pending congressional action.\nSome of the largest economies in South America, however, are not part of U.S. FTAs and have resisted a region-wide agreement, the Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA), in part because it represented an extension of the same trade model used by the United States in bilateral agreements. Many countries south of the Caribbean Basin have been reluctant to enter into such a deal because it does not meet their primary negotiation objectives. Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela are less compelled to capitulate to U.S. demands because they are far less dependent on the U.S. economy than countries in the Caribbean Basin, do not rely on U.S. regional unilateral preferential arrangements (e.g., the Caribbean Basin Initiative or Andean Trade Preference Act), and would have to redefine their subregional trade pacts.\nThe result in the Western Hemisphere has been an expansive system of disparate bilateral and plurilateral agreements, which are widely understood to be a second-best solution for reaping the benefits of trade liberalization. Alternatives to a new round of currently unpopular FTAs are being debated. It has been suggested, for example, that FTAs be revised, enhancing controversial environment, labor, and other chapters. The response in Latin America, however, has been tepid. Another option is to move incrementally toward harmonization or convergence of the many trade arrangements in the Western Hemisphere by adopting administrative solutions where possible. One example is to expand rules of origin and cumulation provisions.\nWith respect to FTA implementation, another critical issue is the provision of trade capacity building and other technical assistance to address supply-side constraints in areas such as port and customs operations modernization, infrastructure investment, technology enhancement, and development of common standards in general. These are often major constraints to the more fluid movement of goods in Latin American countries. It is uncertain what the next step in Western Hemisphere economic integration may be, and these alternatives may be difficult to implement and monitor. But at the margin, they could provide benefits in light of the apparent hiatus in moving ahead with either a multilateral or hemispheric trade accord.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/98-840", "sha1": "2dc67a00e4ebadd1a12b2077adadb2a08ce62755", "filename": "files/20110208_98-840_2dc67a00e4ebadd1a12b2077adadb2a08ce62755.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-840", "sha1": "91baa375a2556f3ac20fb1278515a1652b0fca2d", "filename": "files/20110208_98-840_91baa375a2556f3ac20fb1278515a1652b0fca2d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc83865/", "id": "98-840_2010Jun25", "date": "2010-06-25", "retrieved": "2012-04-27T15:49:45", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "Trade is one of the more enduring issues in contemporary U.S.-Latin America relations. Latin America is far from the largest U.S. regional trade partner, but historically is the fastest growing one. The United States has implemented comprehensive reciprocal trade agreements with most of its important trade partners in Latin America. Agreements with Panama and Colombia have been signed but not implemented, pending congressional action. Countries south of the Caribbean Basin have been reluctant to enter into such a deal because it does not meet their primary negotiation objectives. This report looks at the status, implications, and alternatives to current free trade agreements in the region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100625_98-840_1813946c03e4f1fda6895cbb7e58fc7f61d52a39.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100625_98-840_1813946c03e4f1fda6895cbb7e58fc7f61d52a39.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade", "name": "Foreign trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade policy", "name": "Foreign trade policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America", "name": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S.", "name": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Free trade", "name": "Free trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements", "name": "Trade agreements" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc83864/", "id": "98-840_2009Sep03", "date": "2009-09-03", "retrieved": "2012-04-27T15:49:45", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "Trade is one of the more enduring issues in contemporary U.S.-Latin America relations. Latin America is far from the largest U.S. regional trade partner, but it is the fastest growing one, with the current exception of Africa. Over the last 15 years, the United States has implemented multiple free trade agreements with the region, which are more comprehensive than those that include only Latin American countries. This report looks at the status, implications, and alternatives to current free trade agreements in the region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090903_98-840_fa1c5d4410e47b4a50780a464c284e49a31a402f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090903_98-840_fa1c5d4410e47b4a50780a464c284e49a31a402f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade", "name": "Foreign trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade policy", "name": "Foreign trade policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America", "name": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S.", "name": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Free trade", "name": "Free trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements", "name": "Trade agreements" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs10544/", "id": "98-840_2008Jul18", "date": "2008-07-18", "retrieved": "2008-12-11T20:31:15", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": "After Congress passed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation in August 2002 (P.L. 107-210), the United States implemented free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile, the Dominican Republic, the Central American countries, and Peru. The United States has also concluded FTAs with Colombia and Panama, which await congressional action.1 Talks on the region-wide Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), by contrast, have stalled. The 110th Congress may consider implementing legislation for one or both of the pending bilateral agreements. This report provides an analytical overview of U.S.-Latin American trade data and trends in support of congressional interest in U.S.- Latin American trade relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080718_98-840_3e33a8a40b82e3dbd20f4cc663fa7e90c1c39aa7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080718_98-840_3e33a8a40b82e3dbd20f4cc663fa7e90c1c39aa7.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade", "name": "Foreign trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade policy", "name": "Foreign trade policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America", "name": "Foreign economic relations - U.S. - Latin America" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S.", "name": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Free trade", "name": "Free trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements", "name": "Trade agreements" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821993/", "id": "98-840_2007May18", "date": "2007-05-18", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": "This report looks at the status, implications, and alternatives to current free trade agreements in the Latin America. Trade is one of the more enduring issues in contemporary U.S.-Latin America relations. Latin America is far from the largest U.S. regional trade partner, but it is the fastest growing one, with the current exception of Africa. Over the last 15 years, the United States has implemented multiple free trade agreements with the region, which are more comprehensive than those that include only Latin American countries.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070518_98-840_2bce0f27613dd6bc938c15f10361b9b86431e9e8.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070518_98-840_2bce0f27613dd6bc938c15f10361b9b86431e9e8.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Free trade", "name": "Free trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade policy", "name": "Foreign trade policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements", "name": "Trade agreements" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S.", "name": "Foreign economic relations - Latin America - U.S." } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc805719/", "id": "98-840_2007Jan10", "date": "2007-01-10", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070110_98-840_38d2e5104e02b500da39656584de62b912b80dac.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070110_98-840_38d2e5104e02b500da39656584de62b912b80dac.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822401/", "id": "98-840_2005Mar08", "date": "2005-03-08", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S.-Latin American Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": "Since congressional passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in August 2002 (P.L. 107-210), the U.S.-Chile free trade agreement (FTA) has been implemented and negotiations were concluded on the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Implementing legislation may be introduced in the first session of the 109th Congress. Other important U.S.-Latin America trade initiatives include FTA negotiations with three Andean countries and Panama, and the ongoing but slowed talks on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Congress defined trade negotiation objectives in TPA and trade agreements are enacted only after\r\nCongress passes implementing legislation. This report supports the congressional role in trade policy by providing an analytical overview of U.S.-Latin American trade data and trends.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050308_98-840_f3e674f50fa07379d25dca9fc3fbabf48a42c245.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050308_98-840_f3e674f50fa07379d25dca9fc3fbabf48a42c245.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Free trade", "name": "Free trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign trade policy", "name": "Foreign trade policy" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc805729/", "id": "98-840_2004May11", "date": "2004-05-11", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S.-Latin American Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040511_98-840_7ab264e5c07a2bb4ff956452e532f5db50e921fb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040511_98-840_7ab264e5c07a2bb4ff956452e532f5db50e921fb.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806430/", "id": "98-840_2003Sep24", "date": "2003-09-24", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S.-Latin American Trade: Recent Trends", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20030924_98-840_e50886d35ed7f7c52feb6faaf796df4929d648e5.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030924_98-840_e50886d35ed7f7c52feb6faaf796df4929d648e5.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law" ] }