Oppenheimer: Latin America and the German elections
Western Europeans want a socialist welfare system with the comforts of capitalism, and have not realized yet that there’s no way that they can have it both ways. All of this is bound to have an impact on Latin America, especially for countries in the region that rely heavily on European trade, investment and foreign aid. Consider:
• For Brazil, Europe is the biggest export market.
European countries buy 25 percent of Brazil’s exports, compared to 21 percent from the United States, according to United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America figures.
• For Argentina, Chile and Peru, Europe is the second-largest export market, accounting for 18 percent, 25 percent and 24 percent of their respective worldwide exports, the U.N. figures show.
• For Colombia , Europe is the third-largest export market, accounting for 14 percent of its total exports.
ECLAC’s head José Luis Machinea told me in a telephone interview from Santiago, Chile, that if Europe grows at about 1.5 percent less than the rest of the industrialized world for the next five years, as many economists expect, there would be a fall of nearly 10 percent in Europe’s imports from South America over that period.
“It’s not a dramatic impact, but it’s something that could be worrisome over the medium-term,” Machinea said. “Among other things, it re-duces Latin America’s diversification of exports.”
What’s happening in Europe is bad news for Latin America and for the United States. Sure, European officials say they will not re-trench from their commitments to Latin America.
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