Eksporten fra Latinamerika og Caribien stiger i 2011 med 27 procent, hedder det i en raport fra FNs Økonomiske Kommission for Latinamerika og Caribien, ECLAC.
Kommissionen advarer imidlertid om, at en evt. ny international finanskrise vil påvirke handelen i de latinamerikanske vækstøkonomier.
SANTIAGO de CHILE, 30 August 2011: The value of goods exported from Latin America and the Caribbean will grow by 27 per cent in 2011, which is a similar increase to that of last year.
According to a report presented Tuesday in Santiago, Chile, by ECLAC, this growth would result from a 9 per cent increase in the volume of exports and an 18 per cent rise in the price of products exported by the region.
In the study Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2010-2011 the organization reveals that the value of imports would increase by 23%, with the region accumulating a trade surplus of slightly more than 80 billion dollars by the end of 2011.
ECLAC assures that South-South exchange, headed by China and the rest of emerging Asia, is currently the main driving force of global trade growth, since the volume of exports from developing countries grew by 17 per cent in 2010, compared with 13 per cent in industrialized countries.
The organization stresses that international trade has significantly contributed to economic recovery following the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
However, it also warns that at present, the complex situation in developed countries, in particular the United States of America and in Europe, is starting to affect emerging nations and could decrease the rate of growth of exports to these markets in 2012. The specific impact of the slowdown will depend on the type of products exported and the markets to which they are directed.
Likewise, lower growth of emerging economies, which would further weaken industrialized countries, should lower international prices of basic products, affecting the trade balances and current account balances of the countries exporting them.
Therefore, there is a need to prioritize macroeconomic prudence and forms of regional trade and financial cooperation which can buffer the impacts of an eventual weakening of the international scenario.
“The levels of global volatility and uncertainty are worrying. There are still significant global imbalances, such as the sovereign debt crisis in various European countries and the fiscal uncertainty in the United States of America, which would in turn weaken international trade,” stated Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, while presenting the report.
With regard to trade balance, South America maintains balanced trade with China and the rest of Asia, a slight surplus with Europe and a small deficit with the United States of America, while Mexico and Central America have a significant surplus with the United States of America, a deficit with the European Union and bulging deficit with China and the rest of Asia-Pacific.
In the report, ECLAC also states that the United States of America lacks an explicit trade policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean, despite the fact that it is still the region’s main partner.
For example, since 2007, there have not been greater developments in trade negotiations. This situation contrasts with the dynamism shown by lasting negotiations in recent years between various countries and their European and Asian partners.
ECLAC calls for the countries of the region to increase their negotiation power by taking advantage of regional assets and adopting a common stance on the global agenda on issues such as the Doha Round, climate change and the financial crisis.
Finally, it calls to develop open regionalism to improve the supply of regional public goods, in particular, infrastructure, energy, logistics, transport and initiatives for facilitating and financing intra-regional trade.
