China is already Peru’s largest trading partner on both the exports and imports side. A whopping 32% of Peru’s exports go to China, compared with just 12% to the US. In the first eight months of 2022 the total value of Peru’s exports to China grew by 3.3% — no mean feat given China’s economic slowdown resulting from Beijing’s zero Covid policies.
Peru is also one of just three countries in the region, along with Chile and Costa Rica, that have free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, though another five, including Colombia, Panama and Uruguay, are in the process of negotiating FTAs with the Asian giant.
This probably did not go down well with Peru’s second largest trading partner, the United States, which has a long, ongoing history of organizing or lending its blessing to coups against left-leaning governments in Latin America
It is hard to understand South American countries’s traitorous behavior after all we’ve done for them to bring them “freedom”. huh.
Actually South America is selling food to China. China rather deal with nations not slapping them with tariffs.
There is nothing the US can do. Imposing on South America would simply accelerate & increase the trade between China and South America.
Hasn’t their economy already crashed along with all of South America? If I lived in south America I would be doing all I could to get my economy growing and @#! everyone else. That part of the world has been jacked around for to long.
No China will use the US method. Provide Peru with loans . Then when Peru cannot make the payments; China will demand changes. Same tune but different master.
Because of the Monroe Doctrine, most of the jacking around over the past century has been by the US - which frequently backed fascist-style dictators. I’m guessing, to the majority of the population, socialism sounds pretty good and to the governments, an association with China far safer than with the US.
There have been many attempts by South American countries to join into trade blocks (frequently attached to either Argentina or Brazil). In every case, the US has either coopted the leadership or messed up the attempt. We have always had challenges dealing with trading blocs not controlled by us - even the “Common Market” (ultimately the EU), and our government did all it could to encourage that confederation to break up (with the administration of the time backing BREXIT). We are (rightfully) uncomfortable with South America following Africa’s example and accepting Chinese trade and assistance in lieu of that of the US.
That is not nearly so simple. The US ends up giving money to countries. China ends up getting Chinese banks to make loans but does not give any money to almost any country she is doing business with.
China is sinking. The politicians in South America and China are out of touch with reality. it is too late in the day to bank on China.
The only thing China might be able to do is export a larger workforce to take over a few smaller countries and mine and manufacture in those smaller countries. Not the deal Peru wants?
The US is now waiting China out. The US does not have to do anything else. In the mean time the US will be rising for several decades to come.
I love Lula but he now leads the emerging markets without China or Russia or Turkey riding with him. India is his only partner with an upside.