Sino–US Trade War: A Mini Review on Latin American Involvement

Nilay Yıldız

doi:10.18639/merj.2019.874701

Abstract

This article is written to summarize what has been going on in trade war between the United States and China and to express how this war affects trade relations of Latin America with both of the actors being involved in the trade war. The reason why Latin America is chosen as a region to work on rests on the fact that both the United States and China have been conducting considerable trade relations with the region. This article is organized to analyze what kind of a position Latin America would be at during the upcoming moves from two giants and how the region should revise its ties with both economies considering the past relations it has had with before this trade war emerged. There have been many moves taken by the United States and China after the dispute started to show up; however, Latin America has been conducting considerable relations in terms of trade, politics, historical orientation, and geographical ties with both giants since long before the trade dispute began. Therefore, this article has an aim to recover the historical trade relations of Latin America and to have some clues to determine what can come next for the region’s economic position and trade relations. Colonial past of the region, the role it has played during the Cold War, the involvement of the Latin America in trade relations with China, and Chinese presence in the region are the factors that are included in the article to understand the critical position of Latin America in the Sino–US trade war.

Highlights

In the period until the oil crisis, the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean followed the policies of import substitution industrialization
The international trade crisis, called the US–China trade wars, began in 2017 with the US Department of Commerce investigating the imports of steel and aluminum as a national security threat
When we look at the growth rates between 1980 and 2010, we see that Latin America and the Caribbean regions are growing less than the United States and Asian countries (ECLAC, 2013: 73)

Summary

Introduction

In the period until the oil crisis, the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean followed the policies of import substitution industrialization. When we look at the growth rates between 1980 and 2010, we see that Latin America and the Caribbean regions are growing less than the United States and Asian countries (ECLAC, 2013: 73). Trade relations between Latin America and Caribbean countries and Asia have increased.

Results

Conclusion