• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Free Trade Between U.S. and Latin America at a Crossroads

Free Trade Between U.S. and Latin America at a Crossroads

July 23, 2007
From the Atlanta Business Journal

Latin America could be the next hot spot for trade and economic growth if the region can address its customs and border issues, according to UPS Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew. The United States, Canada and Latin America have the ability to become the world's next great trading bloc, but only if nations improve their transportation infrastructures and simplify customs requirements, Eskew said.

"I believe that Latin America, home to half-a-billion people south of the U.S.-Mexico border, has the potential to be the next hotbed of trade and economic growth," he said. "But it is clear the Americas are at a crossroads. Although we're neighbors, our border and customs policies make it sometimes seem like we're enemies. We have so many complicated customs and security requirements in place that it's often easier to import goods from Europe or Asia... The choices are to adapt, or become irrelevant."

"The first (advantage) is geographical proximity," Eskew said. "In an era of just-in-time supply chains, proximity is everything. Latin American markets can be accessed by land and sea. Another key advantage is the ability to take advantage of several free-trade agreements. While we still face the challenge of how best to knit them together, these agreements really matter."

Eskew lauded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which already has created the second-biggest trading bloc in the world behind the European Union "and accounts for far more trade than the U.S. conducts with China."

Between 1997 and 2020, Latin America's real Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow 4.4 percent annually, which is faster economic growth than Asia at 3.6 percent and much faster than the 2.8 percent global average. But the nations of Latin America must begin to fix their problems now if they want to continue GDP growth. Eskew suggested several steps that Latin governments could take, such as developing a single, streamlined customs clearance system; identifying "trusted shippers" and allowing them a "fast lane" for customs processing; raising the minimum dollar value at which imported goods must receive customs clearance and separating the release of shipments from the collection of duties and fees; increasing spending on transportation infrastructure; and upgrading wired and wireless communications infrastructure.
http://www.bizjournals.com

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Facility Location Planning Latin America
KEYWORDS Facility Location & Network Design Latin America
  • Related Articles

    Bush Stumps for Passage of Pending Free-Trade Agreements With Latin America and South Korea

    NAFTA at 20: A Look at U.S.-Mexico Trade

    NAFTA at 20: A Look at U.S.-Mexico Trade

From the Atlanta Business Journal

Free Trade Between U.S. and Latin America at a Crossroads

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Slow Vaccine Rollouts Delay World’s Economic Recovery; Airbus Plant Hit by Outbreak

    Coronavirus
  • Car Industry

    A Year of Poor Planning Led to Carmakers’ Massive Chip Shortage

    Technology
  • U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

    WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers As China Fills Vaccine Void

    Coronavirus
  • Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Watch: Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Coronavirus
  • Third-Party Cybersecurity

    What Vaccine Supply Chains Must Do to Protect Against Cyberattack

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb home issue 27

2020 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

  • LSP Wows Global Client, Quickly Advances to Become End-to-End Provider

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact GEP Honeywell Intelligrated
Infor Logility Magnitude Software
MPO Old Dominion Oliver Wight
OpenSky Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
TGW Systems Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam Yang Ming
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing