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A Virtual Market for the Greater CaribbeanThe Greater Caribbean This Week Juan Carlos Martínez-Piva A market without borders or spatial limits in which buyers and sellers gather and trade in a secure manner. A market in which companies’ volume of activity does not influence access to it and with low transaction costs. This is a dream that was only possible, until recent years, in the utopian world of perfect competition developed as an instrument of analysis by economists. |
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This “dream market” has never been closer to reality than it is today. Its materialisation has been made possible through virtual markets, markets located in the space provided by the Internet. Without a doubt, technological development has radically transformed the world and all its aspects. Technology has become the driving force behind the globalisation process, demolishing barriers among countries and rendering traditional trade regulations obsolete. Nowadays, technological change sets the pace of development and international growth. Even when this new reality presents significant challenges to developing countries, particularly the smaller ones, it opens up windows of opportunity with great potential as instruments for economic growth, as well as support for the competitiveness and development of our societies. Such is the case with virtual markets. The virtual market is not a new concept – the private sector has developed extensive and successful virtual markets. More recently, its potential has also been recognised around the world by trade promotion entities, public as well as private. In the Greater Caribbean, several national trade portals have already been set up in which it is possible to present offers and demands, as well as various exporter and importer directories. The establishment of a Virtual Market of the Greater Caribbean that would be made available to all entrepreneurs in the Region could provide a unique and permanent instrument for promoting trade and investment in the area. This is the objective of a proposal currently being examined by the ACS Special Committee on Trade. As a matter of fact, in mid-October, the Commission of Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) created for these purposes, held its first meeting and confirmed interest in identifying mechanisms to develop this proposal. A trade forum of this nature would contribute significantly toward achieving greater rapprochements among the business communities of the Greater Caribbean, placing both ends of the trade equation in direct contact, simultaneously overcoming the physical and language barriers that separate the entrepreneurs of the Region. The value of the proposal is enhanced since it relies on the co-operation from the TPOs of the Region, by joint effort and by creating synergies; an initiative that could very well become the most important material representation of the co-operation agreement signed by the TPOs of the ACS in Santiago de Cuba, in June this year. The virtual market could enable companies from various sectors and with different volumes of activity, to utilise technological instruments, as well as gain entry to markets that they otherwise would be unable to access. In this respect, it could therefore serve as a crucial element in supporting participation of small and medium companies in the global economy – an essential requirement in order for the benefits of liberalisation to reach all levels of our societies. Surely, technology will continue to define the lines of international economic progress. Our economies’ ability to compete will depend on whether or not our societies take advantage of the technology and the spaces it provides for productive development, an effort in which there can be mutual support within the Caribbean community for initiatives such as the Virtual Market of the Greater Caribbean.
November 3, 2003 |
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Association of Caribbean States ©
2007 |