Over the last few decades, just-in-time has been one of the mantras of the manufacturing industry, building the current global supply chains that are indispensable for ensuring the just-in-time supply of all components for the manufacture of a product. 

First the trade war between the US and China, then the pandemic—and the chaos it caused in the supply chain—has brought the concept of just-in-case, i.e., having components available or in stock so as not to depend on distant suppliers who are susceptible to becoming caught up in geopolitical conflicts.

The new idea of just-in-case does not mean returning to the old practice of maintaining large inventories of components. Rather, it encompasses concepts such as nearshoring and the new friendshoring: developing nearby sources of supply in geopolitically reliable territories.

For the US market, Latin America can fulfill that role. It is an opportunity that CAFTA-DR (the Central American Free Trade Agreement plus the Dominican Republic) members are eager to take advantage of, leveraging the strong integration they already have in some industries, such as textiles and medical supplies.

According to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Mauricio Claver-Carone, if Latin America manages to capture 15% of imports from the 10 largest US suppliers located outside the Western Hemisphere, it could increase its exports by US$70 billion annually.