Central America's trade hasincreased significantly in the past decade, in great part asa result of strong efforts to reduce tariffs within theregion, as well as improvements in market access due to theentry into force of important free trade agreements.However, the growth of Central America's trade has notbeen as impressive from a global perspective and there isgrowing evidence that the gains from trade agreements andliberalization policies have been limited by transport andlogistics barriers. Studies sponsored by the World Bankreveal that high domestic transportation costs, along withbottlenecks at land border crossings, continue to presentlarge hurdles to intra and extra regional trade. Key factorsthat impede commerce include the lack of good-quality pavedsecondary roads, expensive trucking services, and lengthyborder crossing procedures. Coordinated efforts to addressthese bottlenecks could help improve significantly thegrowth impacts of international trade in the region.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
