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.