Shifting Latin American Trade favors China

A sobering assessment of trade relations:
“What happened to free trade? The United States has free trade agreements with Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, and Central America, yet China has still managed to establish itself as a major economic presence in these countries. Despite the lack of constraints and the expectation that trade flows would jump dramatically between the U.S. and its southern neighbors, China has either displaced the U.S. (in Chile and Peru) or begun to pose a threat to its economic dominance (in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean). President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership sends an additional signal to Latin America that the U.S. is retreating from the world stage. The door is open for China and other emerging powers to fill the void and become the new hegemonic economic power in the region.”