1. International Road Transport Union- IRU General Assembly Geneva, Switzerland April 27, 2012 Jorge Saggiante Executive Secretary of Integral Development

2. The Americas 35 countries Area 42,549,000 km2 Population Almost 1000 million (1 billion) Pop. Density 21/km2 Average GDP per capita $21,500/year (nominal) *Source:International Monetary Fund ** Estimated 50 countries Area 10,180,000km2 Population 739,165,000 Pop. Density 72/km2 Average GDP per capita $35,116/year (nominal) 48 countries Area 44,579,000 km2 Population 3,879,000,000 Pop. Density 87/km2 Average GDP per capita $11,326/year ** (nominal) The Americas*Europe*Asia*

3. OAS and the Political Dialogue Premier Political Forum for dialogue at three levels: Presidential / Heads of State Ministerial / High policy-making authorities Technical level Political dialogue consensus policies. Concrete Actions Cooperation projects Exchange of experiences and best practices Institutional strengthening / capacity building Effective Public Policies From political priorities and initiatives to concrete actions and projects

4. More than 75 free trade agreements signed in the last 20 years Free Trade Agreements in Latin America and the Caribbean

5. International and Intra-regional trade Insufficient participation in global trade, @ 5% of total. Low levels of intra-regional trade EAST ASIA LAC EAST ASIA EUROPEAN UNION

6. TRANSPORTATION COSTS (Cargo VS. Duties in LAC) Source: Inter-American Development Bank, El Estado de la Integración Regional en ALC. Cargo Duties

7. Critical Considerations Competitiveness cannot be considered in purely national terms. It is also a matter of open markets and trade, supported by the development of technological capabilities and efficient infrastructure. To achieve greater intra-regional integration, LAC countries may be well served if they remove certain administrative barriers to international road transport which drives progress, prosperity and peace; For that, we must promote public policies to improve the range and quality of national infrastructure to reduce logistics costs, especially in transport. It is critical to reduce trade barriers by increasing the compatibility and standardization of customs procedures. This is the only way that we will achieve cost efficiency, increased competitiveness and benefit producers and end consumers.

8. OAS-IRU RELATIONSHIP Public-Private partnership Study on International Road Transport in Mexico as a means to inform political dialogue and policy-making Latin American highways and countries to promote the joint Latin American Road Transport Initiative (LARTI) South American CARAVAN

9. OAS-IRU Mexico Study Road transport in Mexico accounts for 97% of the total : – contributes with 16% of tourism GDP and mobilizes 85% of domestic trade. The federal public service road transport consists of 127 thousand companies and 714 thousand vehicles. International road transport has not been able to deploy all its potential Need to bring down barriers to : – cross-border road transport, – barriers connected to border saturation, and – barriers derived from asymmetries between countries and transport systems. Diagnostic tool to inform political discussions and promote policy-making