Following last month’s Canning Paper, which described the rivalry and com- parative performance of Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance, this report takes a broader look at the experience of trade blocs in Latin America over the past two decades. It notes that relative to the claims for free trade the results of the process of economic integration have been disappointing, giving rise to intense dispute and rival initiatives.
Executive Summary
Amidst the continued controversy, the article finds that there are now two main schools of thought about the future of trading blocs. One sees them as unfinished business; the other regards them as largely irrelevant to Latin American development. Both suggest changes in policy emphasis.
The first suggests that they need to be complemented with wider efforts to facilitate integration, in line with the idea of ‘second-stage reforms’.