Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

International Trade and Regional Integration

Open and transparent international agrifood trade, based on multilateral rules, is critical in enabling the Americas to fulfill its pivotal role in food security and agrifood system transformation.

Herein lies the importance of strengthening the multilateral trade system to allow the region to capitalize on its production and trade potential. As such, countries must make better use of opportunities afforded by the signing of trade agreements and by integration processes (trade policy, administration of agreements and trade promotion), to spur economic recovery and increased food security.

Moreover, in the current climate, there is a clear need to link the issues of trade and the environment. The region can capitalize on its wealth of natural resources and the efficiency of its production systems to increase its presence in international markets and to deepen integration processes to contribute to the supply of healthy, nutritious and safe food, produced in an environmentally responsible manner.

The International Trade and Regional Integration Program will continue to provide support to member countries to improve their access to international markets, deepen their regional integration and increase their contribution to agrifood system transformation. To this end, it will focus on two strategic lines of action:

  • Improving market access and implementing trade policies to promote openness, transparency and the free flow of international trade, while preventing or reducing trade barriers. To this end, it will implement actions to strengthen multilateral governance, in order to guarantee open, transparent and predictable international trade and to enable the region to fulfill its role in achieving food security and agrifood system transformation. It will also seek to support the effective participation of countries in international fora; improve regulatory frameworks governing international and regional trade; and increase the capacity of key stakeholders to administer trade agreements. Moreover, it will aim to improve market access and promote intraregional trade, with a view to diversifying trade partners and reducing the negative impact of shocks on international markets, while promoting regulatory convergence and trade facilitation.
  • Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities afforded by trade agreements and integration processes. Taking into account changes in trade flows and intraregional trade, the aim is to develop differentiated strategies, specific to markets, chains or products, and to strengthen the export capacities of companies and producer organizations. The program will also create forums to facilitate trade, through the use of new technologies, such as virtual business roundtables, e-commerce platforms, trade fairs and face-to-face trade missions; and promote linkages at the regional and global levels, as a means of improving access to export markets and contributing to food security and economic and social recovery, in response to markets shocks. As such, it will also promote rural tourism, in particular in countries in which tourism is a predominant sector, for example, in the Caribbean.

Specialist

Program Manager

 

Technical team

 

Advisory team

  • Felix Peña, Argentina
  • Martín Piñeiro, Argentina
  • Osvaldo Rosales, Chile

Contact us

Daniel Rodríguez Sáenz

Program manager

daniel.rodriguez@iica.int

Cooperación Técnica

dct@iica.int

Compartir

Multimedia

Explore our videos and discover IICA’s impact on agriculture and rural development throughout the region.

Canada

July 24, 2025

Leaders Panel: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Agriculture Today

Canada

May 21, 2025

Accessing the Canadian Market: Keys to exporting Singani

En el diálogo el Director General del IICA, Manuel Otero, instó a las personas jóvenes a ser agentes de cambio, jerarquizar la agricultura y fortalecer la autoestima del sector agropecuario, por su rol clave para el desarrollo sostenible de los países de la región.

San José, Costa Rica

October 24, 2025

Youth are key to driving the transformation of agriculture across the hemisphere, says IICA Director General at a meeting with participants of the AgriTalent Program of the Americas

Manuel Otero emphasized the need to promote a new narrative for regional agriculture—one that elevates its standing and recognizes its contribution to the food security of the countries.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Diapositiva con el título ‘Conclusiones clave’ a la izquierda y cuatro mensajes en recuadros de colores: ‘SAIA moderno = sistema agroalimentario resiliente’, ‘Cooperación público-privada es clave’, ‘Tecnología transforma la gestión sanitaria’ e ‘Invertir hoy asegura el futuro’. A la derecha, dos personas en traje formal sentadas en entornos profesionales.

San José, Costa Rica

October 23, 2025

IICA presents the updated PVS, a key tool to strengthen countries’ agricultural health services and ensure safe food trade

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has unveiled the updated version of a key tool designed to modernize and strengthen agricultural health and food safety services across the Americas—an initiative aimed at safeguarding the region’s sanitary and phytosanitary status, ensuring safe food trade, protecting public health, preventing economic losses and driving rural development.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Kingstown

October 23, 2025

Nioka Abbott-Balcombe, a banana producer from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who empowers rural women and shares her wisdom, is recognized by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Nioka is dedicated to the production of bananas, cassava, sweet potato, yam and vegetables. She has also chaired the WALCO cooperative (Women in Agriculture Langley Park Cooperative), where women producers support each other and welcome visits from students to bring young people closer to farming.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins