Posits the view that in the countries of the region, trade policy can be an instrument for macro-economic management, fiscal management and, at the microeconomic level, resource allocation. Notes that there must be close coordination of the policies applied in the fields of trade, industry and technology in rder to ensure high levels of investment in the tradeable sectors of the economy, a form of competitiveness based on constant increases in productivity, and an improvement in the region's specialization profile. Emphasizes the need to strengthen the institutions within Latin America in order to ensure that their interventions in the economy have a suitable level of effectiveness.

3/7/00 M2LMGR