International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2020: Regional integration is key to recovery after the crisis

The 2020 edition of the annual report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by ECLAC, presents the main trends of international trade of the region’s economies during the last year, with the most recent figures available on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the different countries of the region. The document is composed of three chapters that review the evolution of global and regional trade after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, analyze the evolution of intraregional trade with a long-term view, and examine how international trade can contribute to gender equality when accompanied by adequate policies.

Latin America and the Caribbean’s foreign trade in 2020 had its worst performance since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, above all because of the economic crisis prompted by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed by governments to stop its spread. According to new projections by ECLAC, it is estimated that the value of regional exports dropped -13% in 2020 while imports shrank by -20%.