Publication Number: 3558

Report Title: International Economic Review: USITC Nontariff Measures Database: Overview and Preliminary Findings; Challenges Facing the Caribbean Region in the Era of Globalization, and the U.S.-Caribbean Trade Relationship

Author's name(s): Diane Manifold, Magda Kornis

Date Published: October 2002

Report Description/Introductory Text: In “USITC Nontariff Measures Database: Overview and Preliminary Findings,” the USITC has completed preliminary work on a database covering nontariff measures for goods and services in the APEC and FTAA regions. This article explains the primary elements of the database and presents a preliminary summary of the data. According to a preliminary review of the data, the nontariff measure category cited by the most countries in the database is inadequate protection of intellectual property rights. A large number of service sectors are also affected by NTMs. Additional work on the database is in progress.

“Challenges Facing the Caribbean Region in the Era of Globalization, and the U.S.-Caribbean Trade Relationship” talks about the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), dramatically revitalized by its extension in October 2000, which included the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). The short experience to date with the enhanced CBERA is viewed here in the context of the Caribbean Region’s overall developmental needs, as assessed by three authors. These authors discuss the new challenges the region faces in the post-colonial global economy, and the role the United States could play in assisting them.

Topics Covered: USITC, Nontariff Measures (NTMs) Database, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), CBI countries (beneficiaries of CBERA), Carribean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) countries

Countries: United States, Mexico, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadi, Trinidad and Tobago

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