Trade policy, standards, and development in Central America

Gary Hufbauer, Barbara Kotschwar and John Wilson

No 2576, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: After reviewing the current state of standards and trade in Central America, the authors suggest top priorities for reform from a trade policy perspective in a new and increasingly important area of public policy and development. They conclude that it makes sense to: a) take a regional rather than a national approach to setting up accreditation, testing, and metrology infrastructure - to share equipment, experts, and information to get more bang out of limited funding; b) promote regional bodies as venues for Central American countries to develop common positions in international discussions of the development of standards; c) regionalize information-gathering efforts and use information technology to disseminate that information rapidly; and d) push for a sunset clause in international standards developments, because standards have value only if adopted and used.

Keywords: Administrative&Regulatory Law; Environmental Economics&Policies; Labor Policies; Trade and Regional Integration; Health Economics&Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-03-31
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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