Página 33 - Coordinación de Servicios de Información

READINESS OF SMALL COUNTRIES TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE FREE TRADE AREA
OF THE AMERICAS: (FTAA) .
• "The evident differences that may be observed between the
hemisphere's small countries on the one hand and the larger coun–
tries of Latin America on the other give rise to the conclusion that
the small countries run the risk of not being able to take practical
advantage of the potential benefits of their prospective member–
ship in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It will thus be
necessary to readjust and strengthen certain domestic policies in
the small countries and, at the same time, promote decisive inter–
national cooperation efforts to substantially enhance their readi–
ness to participate in an ambitious hemispheric integration process
The fact that most of the small countries are relatively less devel–
oped may reflect less structura l readiness to benefit from FTAA. A
relatively larger agricultural sector than in big countries, and a lower
level of urban development have as their corollary a lower level of
industrial and services development. Low export diversification
with a low total value, or with a high proportion of vulnerable prod–
ucts such as textiles, does not facilita te their linkage with a com–
petitive and changing hemispheric market. Appalling education
and infrastructure ratings in sorne of these countries exacerbate the
situation, demonstrating clearly the need to take their lower rela–
tive development level into account.
In order to increase their readiness for FTAA, the small countries -
with varying emphasis, depending on the group of small countries
in question- should give priority to reforming their tax systems in
order to reduce their dependency on taxes on foreign trade; increase
the amount of human and financial resources devoted to negotia–
tion and management of matters connected with trade policy; en–
sure that future trade libera lization processes are implemented
gradually .. . implement policies and allocate resources to improve
education coverage and quality, and strengthen their science and
training infrastructures in order to facilita te the assimilation of tech–
nology.lt is also clear that they should continue to implement mac–
roeconomic policies and institutional changes designed to achieve
low inflation rates, stable exchange rates and higher levels of sav–
ings and reserves ...
English tor Economists 31