In the last 30 years, most Latin American countries have implemented trade liberalization policies, both unilaterally and multilaterally, as well as within the framework of regional and extra-regional trade agreements. These policies resulted in a reduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, which have generated increases in the levels of trade and investment, which on average have been lower than expected. However, Paraguay stands out in the region as one of the countries with the greatest dynamism in terms of aggregate trade, with the sum of its imports and exports going from 32% of GDP in the period 1980-1984 to 70% of GDP in the period 2015-2019.
However, other indicators of openness, such as insertion in regional and global value chains measured as the value added in exports, both for Paraguay and for the rest of the region, show a much more modest performance.
This report explores the hypothesis that the low international insertion of Latin American companies in general and of Paraguay in particular, is due, in part, to poor use of the regional space as a complement to a strategy of global expansion of exports. This hypothesis focuses on the feedback and benefits between regional and global openness, what has been called open regionalism. To achieve this greater regional and global insertion, the report proposes to act on three specific areas: trade facilitation, physical infrastructure and productive integration.
Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
Time: 9 a.m. (Paraguay)
The transmission of the event will be available on this website.
Agenda
Day 1
March 07, 2022
Opening panel
Sergio Díaz-Granados | Executive President, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-
Oscar Llamosas | Minister of Finance of Paraguay
Carolina España | Executive Vice President of CAF (E) and CAF Representative in Colombia
Presentation of the Economy and Development Report (RED) 2021
Lian Allub | Principal Economist, Directorate of Socioeconomic Research, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America-
Jorge Hernando Pedraza | Secretary General, Andean Community
Comments: Jorge Pedraza, Secretary General of the CAN
The economic integration of Paraguay
Luis Castiglioni* | Minister of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay
Arnoldo Wiens* | Minister of Public Works of Paraguay
Iván Haas | Vice Minister of Economy of Paraguay
Carina Daher | President, Chamber of Maquiladora Companies of Paraguay, CEMAP
Sonia Tomassone | Director, Single Window Export Consortium, CONVUE
Joel Branski | Representative of Paraguay, CAF- development bank of Latin America
Moderator: Ernesto Schargrodsky, Director of Socioeconomic Research, CAF
*to be confirmed
Closure
Adriana Arreaza | Head of the Knowledge Department, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America-
Jorge Srur | South Regional Manager, CAF- development bank of Latin America
with the support of
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