By overcoming cold war talks, with the Inter-American Charter and without the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, there is multilateral exhaustion. The agenda of opposition to the abuses of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, although well intentioned, is incomplete as a compass of international relations. Cinderella in the presidential debates, this time international relations should not be ignored, the candidates should tell us where they are going. We are adrift.
A European Union-style economic integration process for the Americas is stranded. Among the Dawn countries, protectionist militancy, and Anti-Yankee sentiment killed free trade from Canada to Patagonia. Sub-regional efforts such as Mercosur and the Andean Community are more of an obstacle than progress. By not deepening with the Pacific Alliance, we are left without a regional purpose. With the wrong decision not to participate in the Trans-Pacific Agreement, the trade area of the Pacific Alliance (without Colombia) plus Canada, Australia, and East Asia minus China, we are left to nothing. Growth engines that go to more than 6% of GDP were rejected.
In forty years, the share of exports or imports as a percentage of GDP in Colombia has not changed. The increase in value added trade in emerging countries increased 19%, all of Latin America only 0.1%. Without the prospect of entering international value chains, trade will not be a source of growth for better or for worse. The national paperwork makes it difficult to export or import. In Colombia, the products take two days longer to process logistics than in the other countries of the Pacific Alliance.
Now without free trade options, a market integration agenda could be developed. With almost the same operators, the telecommunications markets could be integrated. The elimination of roaming costs and the reduction of rates on cell phones are cheap. The dominant position of operators in various markets would be neutralized.
It would be convenient for the country to integrate its energy market with Central America, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. If the dispatch were for efficiency, our hydroelectric plants would reign. At the same time, our slack in generation would not be necessary, in the time of El Niño, integration would allow us to supply our energy needs with international dispatches. In meeting the goals of COP 21, a single regional carbon credit market would make sense. We are already late in creating a regional stock exchange.
The potential for market integration has more examples: medical services, educational accreditation, banking competition, etc. It is not that the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce that they have led lose their relevance, but without consensus on trade or politics, they will have to cooperate more. The regional integration of the future will require pragmatic presidents and clear purposes. It may be impossible to move forward for the entire region and we have to start only with some neighbors and Central America, but we would have a new purpose.
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