WEF: Chile has the best trade conditions in Latin America
Published: August 28, 2008
Source: www.weforum.org
Trade liberalization and an improving business environment are seen as essential elements of Chile's economic success. The country is ranked 27th in an analysis of 118 countries.
The report emphasizes that Chile's customs administration is "efficiently organized and corruption in related agencies is under control", but also stresses problems related to market access and transport and telecommunications infrastructure. Outstanding aspects include "its openness to imports, with a relatively low tariff and non-tariff barriers, and an efficient and transparent customs organization". Among its weak points, the report names "underdeveloped transportation and service infrastructure", referring mainly to the poor evaluation received by trains, roadways and ports.
Costa Rica comes in second (44) followed by Panama (46), the Dominican Republic (63), and Honduras (64). Mexico is in 65th place due to the perception that its market access is blocked by high tariffs, reaching 11%. Argentina is in 78th place and Brazil comes in 80th.
Hong Kong is in first place in the ranking, followed by Singapore and Sweeden, while Norway and Canada hold fourth and fifth place respectively.