Proliferation of sub-Regional Trade Agreements in the Americas: an assessment of key analytical and policy issues (original) (raw)

2002, Journal of Asian Economics

This article provides an overview of the realities and reasons for proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, 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 Latin American and Caribbean 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. I.