The leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean will meet this Wednesday, April 9 in Honduras for the new Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The appointment, rather than protocol, is emerging as a strategic space in which the heads of state are expected to articulate a collective position against the measures promoted by the Donald Trump government, which have already begun to have an impact on the economies of the region.
For this Wednesday, the participation of the leaders is scheduled, so President Bernardo Arévalo traveled to the neighboring country with the purpose of expressing Guatemala’s position against the tariff policies promoted by the US president.
In the case of Guatemala, the US imposed a 10%tariff, and one of the effects would be the loss of competitiveness. Therefore, different sectors evaluate the impacts of this policy, with concern about the possible effects on the local economy.
Days ago, the Ministry of Economy said that the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)-or DR-CAFTA, in English-and consider that the Government will seek diplomatic and commercial negotiation to resolve commercial barriers.
No incidence
The former ambassador Luis Fernando Andrade Falla points out that all CELAC agendas aim to balance the influence of the United States, and that, given the international situation, the call of the member countries is motivated.
Obviously, he said, they will try to issue a statement in which they question the international system and adopt common positions. However, they will have no incidence because the United States has the advantage by controlling access to the US market. “There is not much to negotiate with the United States,” he said.
Andrade Falla emphasizes that this country performs bilateral negotiations with each nation. In the case of Mexico, he recalled that there is a free trade agreement that will be renegotiated in 2026.
“These CELAC meetings are rather declarative of positions and questions to the system, but incidence will not have any,” he added.
Meeting
The White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, announced that Donald Trump will receive her counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele on April 14, highlighting that her cooperation has become a model for other countries.
Bukele is considered a strategic ally of Trump and agreed to recruit deported at the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a megacárcel inaugurated in 2023 to house gang members.
According to the former ambassador, Bukele could become a representative voice of Central America. However, there must be greater coordination and dialogue between the leaders of the region.
“But they are opportunities that are lost. If he is going to arrive and Trump is going to receive it, because he should say that other countries want them to be treated as partners, that there is an interest that there are American investments and that migration is avoided,” he said.
“There are many arguments to give us preferential treatment. Then, in the negotiations, there must be a position of Guatemala, to ask that Mexico open and facilitate the export of our products or that there is a dynamic couple for all. The agenda is complex, regional, is bilateral,” he added.
Common front
For former chancellor Alfonso Cabrera, Guatemala should seek alliances with Central America or with other countries that share objectives, since negotiating individually with the United States in the tariff issue will not have results.
“Then, look for alliances as much as possible to have a shared position on the issue of tariffs Trump has imposed and on the issue of migrations,” he recommended.
He added: “A common negotiator must be created, to present a position against the United States, understanding that Central America, from a geopolitical perspective, plays a fundamental role for the United States in the face of the progress of the Chinese presence, which irritates them so much.”
Cabrera believes that one of the options for Guatemala is to establish commercial and diplomatic relationships with China.
“But, instead, China is terror. Now you can’t talk about China, because you are a communist. I think, forgetting those little problems, Guatemala should seek alliances to present options for a better relationship,” he said.
Cabrera warns that, with the tariffs announced by Trump to Guatemala, there will be problems in production and export.
Given these measures, the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (AGEXPORT) indicated in recent days that corresponds to the authorities of the country to prepare for a negotiation in which exceptions and adjustments can be achieved. This was expressed by the general director of the entity, Amador Carballido.