The European Union’s Relationship with Latin America: Is it Mutually Beneficial?
Description
Europe has been attached to Latin America since Christopher Columbus arrived in the fifteenth century. Since then, Latin America has witnessed multiple independence movements, which has seen European powers thrown out of their former colonies. This is specifically the case with Spain and Portugal. The two European countries have been connected to their former colonies because of their shared language and culture. Therefore, even though they are small players in European Union standards, they do contribute quite a bit to Latin American relations. Portugal also sees a lot of investment coming from its former colony, Brazil. This relationship shows that it is not just the European Union who can benefit from this transatlantic partnership, but Latin American countries as well. While the United States is Latin America’s largest trade partner, their role is continuing to decrease as it focuses elsewhere in the world. This is because the US is implementing more protectionist policies under the Trump Presidency. This development has led others to try to fill that void, including the European Union. The European Union has already attempted to fill this void, specifically with the MERCUSOR nations, whom why have just recently made a new trade agreement with. This development could lead to further agreements throughout Latin America. While it is hard to determine how much a country benefits from trading with the EU, it is the more developed nations (like the MERCUSOR bloc) who seem to benefit more, due to them exporting more finished goods instead of raw goods (like most of Latin America). Therefore, while the EU benefits significantly 8 from trading with Latin America, and many Latin American countries have the same benefits from trading with the EU, specifically Brazil and Mexico.
Chair
Adérito Vicente
Discussant
Iakovos Iakovidis & Ester Sigillò
Session Type
Panel 2
Topic
Foreign Policy
The European Union’s Relationship with Latin America: Is it Mutually Beneficial?
Europe has been attached to Latin America since Christopher Columbus arrived in the fifteenth century. Since then, Latin America has witnessed multiple independence movements, which has seen European powers thrown out of their former colonies. This is specifically the case with Spain and Portugal. The two European countries have been connected to their former colonies because of their shared language and culture. Therefore, even though they are small players in European Union standards, they do contribute quite a bit to Latin American relations. Portugal also sees a lot of investment coming from its former colony, Brazil. This relationship shows that it is not just the European Union who can benefit from this transatlantic partnership, but Latin American countries as well. While the United States is Latin America’s largest trade partner, their role is continuing to decrease as it focuses elsewhere in the world. This is because the US is implementing more protectionist policies under the Trump Presidency. This development has led others to try to fill that void, including the European Union. The European Union has already attempted to fill this void, specifically with the MERCUSOR nations, whom why have just recently made a new trade agreement with. This development could lead to further agreements throughout Latin America. While it is hard to determine how much a country benefits from trading with the EU, it is the more developed nations (like the MERCUSOR bloc) who seem to benefit more, due to them exporting more finished goods instead of raw goods (like most of Latin America). Therefore, while the EU benefits significantly 8 from trading with Latin America, and many Latin American countries have the same benefits from trading with the EU, specifically Brazil and Mexico.
