The EU arrived too late and bad in Latin America; now pays the price of the high presence of China

Brussels – The European Union “rediscovers” Latin America. The new reasons revive the need for new relationships, which are new repositioning on a failurewhere China has however started to make movements for a long time There is and regularly. As much as the European Commission is delighted with the results obtained with the countries of Mercosur (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, as well as the suspended Venezuela), and as much as it does its best to fish for the allies on the side of the Caribbean ,,The EU arrives too late and badly In an area of ​​the world where Beijing has long examined and has been investing in trade and political relations.

The European Parliament Study and Research Center, EU's strategic errors in areportHighlighting the limits of aneuthat has so much to lose in this race for the presence on the continent. The first error is political: “The EU missed the opportunity to hold a summit with the region for eight years, from 2015 to 2023.” Meanwhile, the People's Republic woven its web. Between 2013 and 2024, President Xi Jinping visited Latin America Six times in person. The countries of the region have signed around a thousand bilateral trade agreements at the same time with China.

The second EU error considers Thethod. European Parliament analysts EU-Mercosur free trade agreement does not offer any certainty, because there is the resistance of certain countries (France and Poland) and national parliaments wishing to flow. Conversely, China does not need confirmation of what it has already signed. Again, during the cocoked pandemic, China provided the first and most vaccines, the EU coming next. Then there is the question of sustainability: Deforestation regulations “have been perceived as protectionist”, “ In particular in Brazil and Argentina, not exactly marginal countries.

Argentina can provide access to lithium through the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. However, there is more than that: Antimony, niobium, bauxite, manganese, graphite, silicon metal, tantalum and vanadium. They are all abundant critical raw materials in Latin America, and China, thanks to its presence in the region, wants to secure supply and control to influence the markets and global economies. The People's Republic quietly and patiently plays its game for a new world order under the influence of China.

A practical demonstration of the renewed power of China is its orientation on Taiwan. In 2017, out of the 33 countries in the Latin and Caribbean region, 18 recognized the island of Formosa as a sovereign state, while today,Only seven have diplomatic relations with Taipei (Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines). Beijing, therefore, erodes international support around Taiwan, which is an integral part of the People's Republic. This decision contrasts open with EU positions, which recognizes the “two Chinas” while for Beijing, China is one with Taiwan. Consequently, the Chinese presence in Latin America also helps to reduce the international EU program.

US President Donald Trump [foto: archivio]

EU policy towards Latin America therefore appears in sight under the following.From a trade point of view, China is the second largest trading partner in the region behind the United States, which it could exceed in 2035. In this growing commercial flow, Beijing is the first buyer of raw materials in the countries of the region: In 2023, a third of the raw materials exported from Latin America (34%) found themselves in the People's Republic. Whereas Critical 34 raw materials content in appendix 2 of the Subject proposed on the subject,,Up to 25 are extracted in Latin America, the European Union is already losing the supply race, And even more dangerously, it may lose it.

The increased presence of China in Latin America is also due to the first presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021). With him at the head of the United States, the protectionist approach pushed governments of the countries of the region to Beijing, which, unlike the United States, was more conciliatory. The second presidency Trump, marked by an easy prices policy, could help China disrupt more European interests in the American central market.

English version by the WitHub translation service