regional economic integration (ADB, 2025). GDP dropped from 14.4% to 13.3%, the share Some Pacific Island nations, due to geographic isolation, limited natural resources, and their 12.7% to 12.0%, and the share of manufac- turing in total exports declined from 61.3% to small domestic markets, saw relatively slow in- experienced industrial decline, a phenome- (World Bank, 2024). In an attempt to break free non known as premature deindustrialization. from this predicament, some Latin American trend of such deindustrialization. For instance, fully developed, resulting in premature dein- 2024, starting a reindustrialization process with dustrialization (Rodrik, 2016). From 2015 to initial results. Among the LAC countries, Guy- ana, Panama, and Costa Rica made relatively from US$1.11 trillion to US$1.06 trillion, a de- crease of US$0.05 trillion. Their industrial val- some progress in industrialization, but their de- ue added per capita decreased from US$1,808.8 to US$1,604.1, a decline of 11.3%. Between velopment remains inadequate. From 2015 to 2024, industrial value added of the developing 2015 and 2023, the share of manufacturing in