Trade Facilitation and Cross-Border Processes
What are we doing?
To develop the dimension on Trade Facilitation and Cross-Border Processes, a study was commissioned that includes a regional diagnosis and an action plan.
Its objective was to identify the main challenges for the movement of goods, people, and vehicles across the corridor’s border crossings and to propose concrete solutions that improve logistical efficiency, reduce transportation costs, and strengthen regional integration.
The study was carried out by the Procomex Alliance, under the leadership of the Executive Commission of the Forum of Subnational Territories. Technical coordination and funding were provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
How was the study conducted?
The study was conducted in two phases:
- Diagnosis. To identify improvement opportunities with exclusive participation of the private sector from the four countries through virtual meetings.
- Action Plan. To reach consensus on solutions and actions between public officials involved in cross-border processes and the private sector through in-person meetings.
- In total, 19 virtual meetings and 10 in-person meetings were held, with the participation of 469 private sector representatives (including 282 companies and 43 business associations), and 161 representatives from 65 public agencies and educational institutions from the 4 CBC countries.
What results were obtained?
- 231 improvement opportunities organized by root cause: systems, infrastructure, regulations, procedures, human resources.
- 264 agreed-upon actions classified into three levels: multilateral, binational, and national.
What are the key conclusions?
The analysis confirms that the competitiveness of the CBC does not depend solely on new infrastructure, but also on the implementation of a Coordinated Border Management model. Improving processes, digitizing procedures, and professionalizing teams will help reduce time and costs, and increase predictability for foreign trade operators and carriers.
The study recommends prioritizing short-term measures that generate quick impacts, while advancing broader structural changes.
How can the study be read?
- The report presents a detailed description of each improvement opportunity and the corresponding proposed solutions.
- The improvement opportunities and solutions are organized by level of action (multilateral, binational, national).
- Additionally, an interactive Power BI dashboard is included, where information can be filtered by different criteria to facilitate reading.
Access:
📄 [Download report in PDF (only in spanish)]
📊 [Access the interactive dashboard in Power BI]
