TRADE
Trade Innovation Climate Change Nutrition
Trade is vital not only for food systems and economies in LAC, but also for global food security. This thematic area explores the policy and institutional environment that shapes international food and input markets including trade barriers, regulations, and innovations. In addition to influencing the movement of food across countries, the trade environment has broader implications for livelihoods, nutrition, and environmental outcomes.
Trade and Food Security
Many countries around the world rely on international markets to feed their populations. Disruptions to trade flow have negative implications for vulnerable countries and farmers who sell their products to international markets. As shocks from conflicts, climate change, public health emergencies, and other events continue to impact global food markets, trade systems must become increasingly adaptive and resilient. The LAC program conducts policy relevant analysis of global and regional trade to help decision makers take informed actions that protect food security.
Report: From farm to table: Agrifood systems and trade challenges in the Southern Cone
Report: Food Security and Agrifood Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean
Contributions to IFPRI's Blog Series: The Russia-Ukraine War and Global Food Security
Blog: Realizing the potential of neglected crops in Latin America
WTO Negotiations from the LAC perspective
The LAC program has produced a book series focused on presenting some of the main themes that are pending in the WTO negotiations, with an emphasis on the views and perspectives of the Southern Cone countries. These countries’ interests and perspectives are influenced by the importance of agriculture in their economies and by the important role they play as the largest net food exporters. The book's chapters were prepared by experts in trade from different countries, and edited by LAC lead, Valeria Pineiro.
Webpage: IFPRI and WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference
Book: The road to the WTO twelfth Ministerial Conference: A Latin American and Caribbean perspective.
Trade and sustainable practices
Globally, countries provide over $600 billion in support to the agrifood sector every year in the form of subsidies, market price supports, and decoupled transfers among other mechanisms. Much of this is concentrated among relatively few commodities in a handful of countries. The negative impacts of these subsidies on production, prices, and trade are widely known, but their environmental impacts are less well understood. Our analysis provides insight into the impacts that these policies have at the regional and global level. We also provide actionable recommendations for policy makers to repurpose agricultural supports for greater efficiency and sustainability.
T20 (Think Twenty)
LAC participates in the Think20 (T20), an official engagement group of the G20. The T20 serves as an “idea bank” for the G20 by bringing together think tanks and high-level experts to discuss policy issues relevant to the G20. Through this form, we provided evidence and guidance that enables decision makers to promote food security and environmental sustainability through effective trade policies. T20 recommendations are synthesized into policy briefs and presented to G20 working groups, ministerial meetings, and leaders’ summits to help the G20 deliver concrete policy measures. Some of the recommendations are also presented in blog posts.
