Contemporary Latin America and the WTO

In 2005, the World Trade Organization along with the Inter-American Development Bank started the Aid-for-Trade Initiative, the goal of which was to teach developing nations how to take advantage of today’s global economy and to discuss how to build up the infrastructure and capacities of these nations. The goals of the Aid-for-Trade initiative are “underline the central importance of trade in development policies; identify the main capacity constraints to export growth; emphasize the importance of comprehensive national and regional trade strategies; highlight the need for increased and effective fi nancing; and secure political commitment on the way forward.” (http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/a4t_e/latin_american_e.pdf)

In 2007, the Aid-for-Trade initiative Regional review for Latin America was held in Peru in order to discuss how to implement policies in this region in order to help developing Latin American nations to become more involved in the global economy and build up their own infrastructures and trading capacities. Many prominent Latin American and world officials met at this conference in Peru in order to discuss these issues. In attendance were heads of international organizations, Latin American presidents, representatives from donor agencies, ministers of trade and finance, and private sector representatives. This conference focused on discussing issues relevant to the Latin America, coming up with possible action plans, and then deciding the next steps and how to implement those action plans.

The Aid-for-Trade initiative and the conference in Peru are extremely important for Latin American nations because a lot of these nations have major financial dependence upon trade. Aid-for-Trade is trying to help the Latin American countries adjust to the changes that are coming along due to globalization and enhanced pressures to become more connected and more involved in the global market. The goal of Aid-for-Trade is to help Latin American countries to use trade and the global market economy to help reduce poverty in their nations and help promote development.