This Month’s Trends
Between the end of September and October, 2015, the regional trade policy scenario was characterized mainly by the progress made on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP has functioned as a source of traction that is impacting the map of agreements in the region. There have been advances on existing agreements, notably the regional agreements between Chile, Colombia, and Mexico with partners both within and outside the region, and with major integration blocks like the MERCOSUR, SELA, UNASUR, and CAN. Progress was also made on new and advanced negotiations.
360º Panorama
Over the course of the month, there was headway on 28 existing agreements and seven trade negotiations (one new, five advanced, and one concluded).
Advanced Negotiations
- Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Historic trade agreement between 12 Pacific countries, including the United States, Chile, Mexico, and Peru (in Spanish).
New Negotiations
Selected news on trade agreements currently in force
- Association of Caribbean States (ACS): Dominican Republic expresses its interest in strengthening relations with the rest of the Caribbean (in Spanish)
- Latin American Integration Association (ALADI): Cooperation in biotechnology to strengthen integration, a topic of discussion at ALADI (Spanish)
- Central America–Mexico: FTA turns 20 in the midst of trade disputes (in Spanish)
- Central America–European Union: EU earmarks €7 million to develop MSMEs in the region (in Spanish)
- Chile–European Union: Chile and Italy sign agreements over energy cooperation
- Colombia, Peru–European Union: EU calls on Colombia and Peru to speed up Ecuador’s entry into the FTA (in Spanish)
- Andean Community (CAN): Trade between the Andean Community and China grows by 6.5% (in Spanish)
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM): CARICOM Secretary visits Brazil to strengthen ties (in Spanish)
- Canadian businesspeople interested in investing in Honduras. Honduras has a trade balance surplus with Canada (in Spanish).
- MERCOSUR under attack since its very beginnings: Interview with the MERCOSUR High Representative-General (in Spanish)
- MERCOSUR–India: Uruguay and India commit to promoting a Technical Cooperation Agreement (in Spanish)
- Mexico–Panama: Edomex and Panama sign trade agreement (in Spanish)
- Mexico–European Union: Spain supports updates to Mexico–EU FTA (in Spanish)
- Dominican Republic, Central America–United States of America (CAFTA–DR): Krugman: Dominican Republic’s performance is relatively good (in Spanish)
- UNASUR to bring together international experts to talk about citizen security policies and Secretary-General asks Brazilian political forces to respect the continuation of democracy
The IJI is an analytical compilation of regulatory texts, commentaries, and monitoring of legal commitments and developments concerning the various integration processes taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean. For news and to learn more about the progress made on trade agreements and negotiations, visit IJI.