US Maintains Position as Latin America's Largest Investor, Applies 25 Percent Tariff to Brazil

An Atlantic Council report confirmed that the US has solidified its position as the largest foreign investor in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past twenty years. Despite China increasing its investments in the region, American capital, reaching an annual average of $28.7 billion in greenfield investments, was unmatched by any country. Additionally, it was reported that the job-creation efficiency of US investments is 65 percent higher than China's and 22 percent higher than Europe's.

In parallel, the US has started applying an additional 25 percent tariff on a large portion of Brazil's exports. This tariff, which came into effect after the US Trade Representative's Office found Brazil's trade policies unfair for US companies, is reshaping the region's trade map. This situation, which negatively affects sectors such as industrial machinery, sugar, and ethanol, could open new commercial doors for other countries like Argentina.

According to the report, US investments are not evenly distributed across the region; since 2020, approximately 70 percent of the capital has been concentrated in Mexico, Brazil, and Guyana. Analysts emphasize that Washington needs to strengthen its presence in the region regarding critical minerals such as lithium and copper, which have increasing strategic importance. Currently investing an annual average of 200 million dollars in this sector, the US is trying to compete with a figure twenty times larger from China.