Trade and economic integration in Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent performance and short-term outlook

This chapter begins with a brief analysis of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2011, broken down according to major partners and product categories for the region and its subregions. This analysis reveals a sharp slowdown starting in the second half of 2011. Section C reviews the region’s external trade performance during the first half of 2012 and presents forecasts for the year as a whole. These point to a meagre expansion in both imports and exports, which have been dampened by the crisis in the euro zone, faltering economic growth in the United States and Japan, and slower growth in China and other emerging economies. Preliminary trade figures for January to June 2012 indicate that the slowdown, especially among European economies, is already being transmitted through trade flows. Regional exports grew by 4% over this period, and imports by 6%, while a growth rate of around 4% for exports and 3% for imports is forecast for the year as a whole.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development