Towards a new industrial policy: The United States economic policy agenda post-COVID-19

This document examines the United States economic policy agenda proposed by President Joe Biden following his inauguration in January 2021, the discussions in the United States Congress since then, and the resulting legislations that have been signed into law. It also details government efforts to address supply chain bottlenecks and legislative efforts to pass a unified bill on increasing innovation and strengthening competitiveness. Four major legislations –the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act– were signed into law as a result. The last three together suggest that the United States government appears to be moving towards a new industrial policy, focused on semiconductors and defense technology, and on clean energy.Abstract .-- Introduction .-- I. President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda .-- II. Addressing supply chain bottlenecks .-- III. Investing in innovation and competitiveness

China and Latin America and the Caribbean: Exports competition in the United States market

This paper uses an augmented gravity trade model to examine the impact of Chinese exports to the United States on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) exports to the same market over the last two decades. The analysis relies on a sample of 33 LAC countries and trade data disaggregated to the 10- digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) level. The results show that the impact of Chinese exports on US imports from LAC is negative and statistically significant across model specifications and levels of aggregation in the trade data. In addition, the model suggests that after accounting for such export competition, Free Trade Agreements with the United States, on average, increased imports from LAC countries by up to 1.5 percent. That is, countries with a trade agreement with the US have an advantage over those without, particularly in the manufacturing sector.Abstract. -- Introduction. I. Export competition between China and Latin America and the Caribbean .-- II. Similarity of Latin American and Chinese export structures. -- III. Gravity models of trade. -- IV. Augmented gravity models and export competition. -- V. Estimation approach. -- VI. Data .-- VII. Results. A. Baseline gravity model. B. Specification tests. C. Instrumental variable results. D. Industry results .-- VIII. Conclusions

La exportación de alimentos a Estados Unidos: principales desafíos para América Latina y el Caribe y guía de acceso a la información

Incluye BibliografíaEl comercio internacional de productos alimentarios ha aumentado sensiblemente en las últimas décadas, entre otras razones, debido al crecimiento del consumo de alimentos per cápita a nivel mundial. Estados Unidos no ha sido la excepción. El crecimiento del consumo per cápita de alimentos en la economía más grande del mundo fue de aproximadamente 6 por ciento en los últimos 10 años. Al mismo tiempo, un porcentaje creciente del consumo de alimentos en Estados Unidos es abastecido del extranjero. En el año 2005, por cada cien dólares gastados en alimentos en Estados Unidos, trece eran de origen importado, 3.5 eran gastados enLatino América y el Caribe. Las cifras hablan del enorme potencial del mercado agroalimentario de los Estados Unidos para las exportaciones de la región. Sin embargo, anualmente miles de productos originarios de Latino América y el Caribe son rehusados la entrada a ese mercado por diversas razones. A la luz de los crecientes lazos comerciales entre la región y Estados Unidos y de la oportunidad potencial de los mismos al desarrollo económico de la región, varios gobiernos han planteado la necesidad de conocer el número de detenciones anuales en los puertos de entrada norteamericanos, cuales son los productos más afectados y las razones más frecuentes a los efectos de desarrollar las capacidades técnicas e institucionales necesarias para agilizar el movimiento de los bienes y servicios a través de la frontera con Estados Unidos. Con el objetivo de atender esta necesidad de asistencia técnica, la Oficina de la CEPAL en Washington ha elaborado una base de datos que documenta el número de detenciones por país y por producto y las razones de su detención para el período que va desde 2001 al 2005. La base de datos se actualizará anualmente.El objetivo de este documento es presentar la base de datos así como realizar un análisis de los productos más afectados a los efectos de orientar a los países exportadores en cuanto a los cambios necesarios para facilitar el acceso de dichos productos al mercado. El documento contiene además una guía de acceso a la información sobre los procesos, certificaciones, estándares y regulaciones que deben satisfacer los exportadores de la región a los efectos de acceder el mercado estadounidense para aquellos productos que muestran un mayor número de detenciones

Estimating the effects of United States food safety and agricultural health standards on agro-food exports from Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliographyFood safety and agricultural health standards have become a mayor challenge for food exports from developing countries in the past few years (Jaffe & Henson, 2005; OECD, 2003; Josling, Roberts & Orden, 2004; Maskus & Wilson, 2001). As tariff rates were negotiated down in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in regional and bilateral trade agreements, international trade in agro-food products increased substantially and so did concerns over food safety and agricultural health in food importing countries. Several countries, including the U.S, started to pay closer attention to their food safety and agricultural health standards both domestically and for food imports. In the U.S., the tightening of standards was in part related to heightened concerns about bioterrorism (Jaffe & Henson, 2005). Increased consumer awareness of agro-food quality and agricultural health issues also played an important role, as indicated by the large number and strictness of private technical standards (Jaffe & Henson, 2005). Although there is an extensive literature describing the general issues of food-safety and its potential effects on international trade, few studies have looked at the empirical question of what are the actual trade costs of an increase in the number, strictness and enforcement of food safety regulations. This document contributes to the literature by providing an innovative estimation of the effects of U.S. food safety and agricultural health standards in the agro-food exports of Latin America and the Caribbean, using the number of refusals at the U.S. border as a proxy for trade costs associated with tighter food safety standards and regulations. The analysis focuses on agro-food exports from Latin American countries to the U.S. market to estimate a gravity model with panel data for the years spanning from 1997 to 2009. The main results are that technical standards and regulations are not significant determinants of Latin America and Caribbean agro-food exports to the U.S. Rather the size of the countries or their market potential in the food sector, as measured by the agricultural GDP, is the main determinant. Time specific factors such as oil prices and global economic conditions as well as population of the exporting country also play a role. This is consistent with the results obtained by Novy (2009), that the majority of U.S. trade growth over the period 1970-2000 was explained by income growth rather than by a decline in bilateral trade barriers. In addition, we found that using GDP as a measure of market potential in the agro-food sector is inadequate, because GDP includes services, most of which are non-tradables, and the value added of products other than those whose trade is relevant for our analysis. As a result, using GDP overestimates trade costs in the agro-food sector and underestimates the role of income as a determinant of trade (Novy, 2009)

Observatorio del control aduanero a las importaciones de Estados Unidos: estándares técnicos

Incluye bibliografíaVersión en inglés disponible en BibliotecaA la luz de los crecientes lazos comerciales entre la América Latina y el Caribe y los Estados Unidos, de la oportunidad potencial de los mismos para desarrollo económico de la región, y de la creciente importancia de las industrias de alimentos y cosméticos en la canasta de bienes importados por Estados Unidos, la importancia de la existencia de estándares técnicos y regulaciones al comercio internacional de este tipo de bienes genera una preocupacion creciente en la region.En ese sentido, los gobiernos de la región han planteado la necesidad de conocer el número de detenciones anuales en los puertos de entrada norteamericanos, los productos más afectados y las razones más frecuentes de su detención a los efectos de desarrollar las capacidades técnicas e institucionales necesarias para agilizar el movimiento de los bienes y servicios a través de la frontera con Estados Unidos.Con el objetivo de atender esta necesidad de asistencia técnica, la Oficina de la CEPAL en Washington elaboró una base de datos que documenta el número de detenciones por país y por producto y las razones de su detención para el período 2001 al 2008, la cual será mantenida al corriente.Los primeros seis años contienen información para dieciocho países de la región y a partir del año 2006, la base de datos se extiende a todos los países del mundo para los cuales se cuenta con información precisa y confiable. El objetivo de este documento es presentar la base de datos ampliada y ponerla a disposición de todos los interesados

Labour issues in the digital economy

Digital work platforms are transforming labor markets around the world. Firms that own, manage and deploy these work platforms have reframed employer–worker relations by defining their core business as the provision of the technology that enables certain services to be provided rather than the provision of those services, and offering their workers independent contractor arrangements rather than employee contracts. This has significant consequences in terms of wages, jobs security and other working conditions. Digital work platforms also increase worker welfare by offering unparalleled flexibility in setting work hours and most permit a workday to be segmented, allowing certain parts of the population who otherwise would not be able to work (due to other commitments or constraints) to have some source of income. At the same time, they pose significant challenges in the labor market. Companies replace employees with contract workers to control costs but this may lead to lower pay, benefits, and job security. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a policy debate on how to best prepare workers for this new reality. This document describes three main concerns: the issue of worker misclassification in digital work platforms, the lack of social security systems for workers in the gig economy that are not considered employees, and the problems that the isolating nature of on-demand work presents with respect to worker organization and the right to collective bargaining.Abstract .-- Introduction .-- I. Labor issues regarding the on-demand economy .-- A. Non-standard employment and employee misclassification. B. Social security in the on-demand economy. C. Collective bargaining .-- II. Looking forward

Observatory of customs controls for United States imports: technical standards

Includes bibliographySpanish version available at the LibraryGlobal antidumping activity peaked in 2001, with 366 petitions initiated world-wide, and rapidly diminished to just 163 cases in 2007. With the onset of the current major world-wide recession some observers feared that antidumping usage would climb dramatically; however while antidumping activity was up by 28% in 2008 (to 208 cases initiated, according to WTO statistics), the rise was not nearly commensurate with the financial distress, and new antidumping initiations for the first three quarters of 2009 -at 154 cases- are on pace to show little change for the full year compared to the previous one (based on data from Bown's Global Antidumping Database). However, antidumping has largely become a problem of the developing world, both in terms of major importing country users (e.g., the three largest users in 2008 were India, Brazil, and Turkey, the three largest users in 2009 so far have been Pakistan, India, and Argentina), and of targets (with China by far the largest exporting country hit by antidumping petitions, but Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia the next largest targets of cases filed in 2008)

Global financial rulemaking and small economies

This paper addresses some unintended consequences of global financial regulation and international tax evasion prevention and their impact on small economies. It explores how failure to recognize countries’ differing access to finance and varying costs of funding as well as the high costs of complying with financial regulations may overlook some unintended consequences, especially on smaller island countries Then, it discusses the global financial architecture and governance of standard setting bodies and the actions taken to improve representation and legitimacy and remediate some of the unintended deleterious effects on emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). Improving governance is ever more urgent at a time when financing the post-2015 agenda will require mobilization of both public and private funds at the national, regional and global levels.Abstract .-- Introduction .-- I. Global regulatory reforms .-- II. chitecture of current global financial regulations .-- III. Final remarks

Financing development in Latin America and the Caribbean: The role and perspectives of multilateral development banks

This paper analyses the role that Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have played in financing development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and what their role will be in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a context where multilateralism is severely questioned, donor countries are moving their resources away from middle-income countries, and MDBs' lending represents a decreasing share of total debt in the region, we show that there is room for MDBs to continue being relevant players.Abstract .-- Introduction .-- I. Multilateral development banks: origins and financial model .-- II. The evolution of mandates of the multilateral development banks .-- III. Major multilateral development banks financing Latin America and the Caribbean .-- IV. Multilateral development banks flows to the Region: a historical perspective .-- V. Looking forward .-- VI. Conclusions