It’s no big secret that the United States has lost some economic and political clout in Latin America over the past decade, but United Nations economic projections for 2020 should set off alarm bells in Washington DC.
According to the Santiago, Chile-based UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), US exports to the region have fallen from 60 per cent of overall US exports in 2000 to 39 per cent today, and — if current trends continue — will fall further to 28 per cent of total US exports in 2020.
As for US imports from Latin America and the Caribbean, they have fallen from 51 per cent of total US imports in 2000 to 33 per cent today, and under the current trends will fall further to