DOT’S COLDREN: LIBERALIZATION, GLOBALIZATION WILL OPEN MARKETS

DOT’S COLDREN: LIBERALIZATION, GLOBALIZATION WILL OPEN MARKETS    A U.S. Transportation Department official said the agency's efforts to forge open-skies air agreements plays a vital role in opening markets for U.S. shippers, and, ultimately, yield “global liberalization.”
   The DOT continues to be aggressive in attaining more bilateral agreements because they facilitate market competition while assuring countries' compliance needs, Carolyn Coldren, a senior DOT negotiator told shipping executives at the Air Cargo Americas conference in Miami.
   “Our method is to get out of the way, and let airlines compete,” Coldren said.
   The United States has 56 open-skies agreements with countries worldwide. Twelve of those agreements, she said, are with countries in the Western hemisphere. “But we still have some way to go.”
   Coldren sees open-skies agreements as an opportunity to bring more Latin American countries into the economic playing field, which could open up more competition among U.S and Latin American shippers.
   About 75 percent of U.S./Latin America trade flows through Miami. The majority of these goods — flowers, fruits, fish and vegetables — require timely delivery, and open-skies agreements help facilitate such movement.
   “Enough liberalization among nations could ultimately result in global liberalization,” Coldren said.