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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Latin America and the Caribbean s foreign trade in 2020 saw its worst performance since the 2008 global financial crisis, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on economies, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said on Friday, January 22nd.
In its newly-released annual report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2020, the UN agency estimated the value of regional exports dropped 13 percent in 2020, while imports shrank by 20 percent.
Still, the drop in trade is less than the 23-percent . . .
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Modern Diplomacy
Latin American countries have no relatively good room for fiscal and monetary policy adjustment like China, and basically lack the ability for governmental countercyclical adjustment. This is mainly reflected in their room for fiscal and monetary policy.
From a fiscal viewpoint, the taxation ability of Latin American governments is generally weak. Taxation accounts for 16-18% of GDP, which is obviously lower than the 30-35% level of developed countries.
In terms of monetary policy, since the currencies of Latin American countries are directly correlated to the U.S. dollar exchange rate, the dollar fluctuation also entails the reduction of their room for monetary policy adjustment. These countries have continuously borrowed and cut interest rates. Hence there is little room for further steps.
Honduran private sector: Join forces to rebuild country 3 minutes read
Tegucigalpa, Jan 18 (efe-epa).- The Honduran private sector is in a “state of calamity” due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in 134,111 confirmed cases and 3,354 deaths nationwide, and the effects of the tropical storms Eta and Iota, such that it rejects the idea of a new lockdown to stem the uncontrolled spread of the virus.
“Private business is in a state of calamity. We had 10 months of confinement and going out (to work) at half-steam due to Covid-19 and in November we were affected by two tropical storms,” the president of the Honduran Private Business Council (Cohep), Juan Carlos Sikaffy, told EFE in an interview.
A year that was largely defined by the COVID-19 pandemic finally ended, but challenges still lie ahead for the global community to deal with.
Countries and organizations need to ramp up cooperative efforts to be better prepared for new waves of COVID-19 infections, seek recovery of the hard-hit global economy, and maintain stability in regions that have seen turmoil over the past year.
TACKLING NEW WAVES
In 2021, new waves of COVID-19 infections from the ravaging pandemic are still one of the most threatening challenges facing the world at large.
In the United States, a country that boasts the most advanced medical technology, some 22.8 million people have been infected with the virus and more than 380,000 lost their lives.