Deepening regional integration is crucial to overcome the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on Thursday (06.08.2020).
Bárcena presented in Santiago de Chile the Sixth special report on Covid-19 of that United Nations agency, this time on the effects of the pandemic on international trade and logistics in the region, which The value of exports is expected to contract by 23 percent this year and that of imports by 25 percent..
According to ECLAC, in a more uncertain and regionalized world economy It is crucial to deepen regional integration, promoting value chains in strategic sectors, taking advantage of the opportunity offered by a market of 650 million inhabitants.
Also A common digital market should be promoted, reduce the region's vulnerability to external shocks, and generate a more symmetrical dialogue with the United States, China and Europe.
Bárcena explained that in the current context of high uncertainty, countries must take action to reduce internal logistics costs and generate value-added services to increase their competitiveness.
He considered that these measures should be implemented in a coordinated manner with other economic and social measures, to promote a recovery with social and environmental benefits.
El Study deepens that the sharp reduction in international trade in Latin America and the Caribbean It occurs in a global context in which world trade has accumulated a 17 percent drop in volume between January and May, and the region is the most affected by the situation and will be marked by declines in shipments of manufacturing, mining and fuel.
He also noted that the 50 percent drop in tourism will drag down exports of services, especially from the Caribbean, while intraregional trade will show a sharp contraction of 23,9 percent, especially in manufacturing.
This will entail a loss of industrial capacities and a return of the region to the export of primary products, the document warns.
It also details that from January to May the value of sales from the region to the United States fell by 22 percent, the European Union (14,3%) and the region itself (23,9%), but exports to China fell by less than two percent between January and March, and recovered in April and May, due to the gradual reopening of the economy in that country.
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