The effects of trade openness on poverty or welfare distribution are difficult to track because the relationship between these two variables may take multiple paths. In a synthesizing effort, Winters (2003) identifies four main institutional channels through which trade policy affects poverty:(1) goods and services markets,(2) households,(3) factor markets, and (4) government. First, the channels of retail and wholesale distribution that exist in a country affect the transformation of international prices into local prices. In this regard, market