Latin America’s Pivot to Asia Latin America’s Pivot to Asia Posted by Joseph20102011 Tags:Geopolitical Analysisgeopolitical newsgeopoliticsPolitics 1 comment # Latin America at APEC Last week’s [tête-à-tête](https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/30/trump-xi-deal-soybeans-tariffs-rare-earths-taiwan-trade/) between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was far from the only news at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. Officials from APEC’s Latin American [members](https://www.apec.org/about-us/about-apec)—Chile, Mexico, and Peru—attended the event and announced new steps toward trade integration with Asian partners. Their visits, which followed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s [appearance](https://agenciagov.ebc.com.br/noticias/202510/201cestar-aqui-e-reafirmar-a-importancia-das-relacoes-do-brasil-com-o-sudeste-asiatico201d-diz-lula-sobre-cupula-da-asean) at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit days before, continue a trend of Latin American countries seeking to deepen trade ties with Asia in the face of U.S. tariffs. At APEC, Chilean President Gabriel Boric called trade protectionism an “elephant in the room,” [saying](https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/boric-en-apec-en-picada-contra-medidas-proteccionistas-de-trump-y-conflictos-belicos-de-putin-y-netanyahu/) that “it is multilateralism and dialogue that will bring development, not impositions by the strongest actor.” On the sidelines of the summit, Chile and South Korea announced a new [partnership](https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/boric-y-el-presidente-surcoreano-acuerdan-impulsar-innovaci%C3%B3n-y-cultura-durante-el-apec/90257900) between their export promotion agencies. With the Philippines, Chile [agreed](https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/11/02/news/national/marcos-boric-fast-track-philippines-chile-cepa-free-trade-deal-at-apec/2213635) to fast-track a draft trade agreement; the Philippines also [announced](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/03/philippines-peru-exploring-free-trade-deal) that it would launch a committee to explore a free trade deal with Peru. Mexico and Vietnam [held talks](https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1728624/viet-nam-mexico-seek-ways-to-boost-bilateral-trade-cooperation.html) to boost economic ties. The meetings built on some existing trade agreements. Though APEC is a forum rather than a free trade zone, Chile, Mexico, and Peru [are all members](https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership?utm_source=chatgpt.com) of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. (The United States was part of talks on creating a precursor to the CPTPP in the 2010s, but Trump [withdrew](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38721056) from the process in 2017.) Comments are closed.
# Latin America at APEC Last week’s [tête-à-tête](https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/30/trump-xi-deal-soybeans-tariffs-rare-earths-taiwan-trade/) between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was far from the only news at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. Officials from APEC’s Latin American [members](https://www.apec.org/about-us/about-apec)—Chile, Mexico, and Peru—attended the event and announced new steps toward trade integration with Asian partners. Their visits, which followed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s [appearance](https://agenciagov.ebc.com.br/noticias/202510/201cestar-aqui-e-reafirmar-a-importancia-das-relacoes-do-brasil-com-o-sudeste-asiatico201d-diz-lula-sobre-cupula-da-asean) at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit days before, continue a trend of Latin American countries seeking to deepen trade ties with Asia in the face of U.S. tariffs. At APEC, Chilean President Gabriel Boric called trade protectionism an “elephant in the room,” [saying](https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/boric-en-apec-en-picada-contra-medidas-proteccionistas-de-trump-y-conflictos-belicos-de-putin-y-netanyahu/) that “it is multilateralism and dialogue that will bring development, not impositions by the strongest actor.” On the sidelines of the summit, Chile and South Korea announced a new [partnership](https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/boric-y-el-presidente-surcoreano-acuerdan-impulsar-innovaci%C3%B3n-y-cultura-durante-el-apec/90257900) between their export promotion agencies. With the Philippines, Chile [agreed](https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/11/02/news/national/marcos-boric-fast-track-philippines-chile-cepa-free-trade-deal-at-apec/2213635) to fast-track a draft trade agreement; the Philippines also [announced](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/03/philippines-peru-exploring-free-trade-deal) that it would launch a committee to explore a free trade deal with Peru. Mexico and Vietnam [held talks](https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1728624/viet-nam-mexico-seek-ways-to-boost-bilateral-trade-cooperation.html) to boost economic ties. The meetings built on some existing trade agreements. Though APEC is a forum rather than a free trade zone, Chile, Mexico, and Peru [are all members](https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership?utm_source=chatgpt.com) of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. (The United States was part of talks on creating a precursor to the CPTPP in the 2010s, but Trump [withdrew](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38721056) from the process in 2017.)
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# Latin America at APEC
Last week’s [tête-à-tête](https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/30/trump-xi-deal-soybeans-tariffs-rare-earths-taiwan-trade/) between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was far from the only news at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. Officials from APEC’s Latin American [members](https://www.apec.org/about-us/about-apec)—Chile, Mexico, and Peru—attended the event and announced new steps toward trade integration with Asian partners.
Their visits, which followed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s [appearance](https://agenciagov.ebc.com.br/noticias/202510/201cestar-aqui-e-reafirmar-a-importancia-das-relacoes-do-brasil-com-o-sudeste-asiatico201d-diz-lula-sobre-cupula-da-asean) at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit days before, continue a trend of Latin American countries seeking to deepen trade ties with Asia in the face of U.S. tariffs.
At APEC, Chilean President Gabriel Boric called trade protectionism an “elephant in the room,” [saying](https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/boric-en-apec-en-picada-contra-medidas-proteccionistas-de-trump-y-conflictos-belicos-de-putin-y-netanyahu/) that “it is multilateralism and dialogue that will bring development, not impositions by the strongest actor.”
On the sidelines of the summit, Chile and South Korea announced a new [partnership](https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/boric-y-el-presidente-surcoreano-acuerdan-impulsar-innovaci%C3%B3n-y-cultura-durante-el-apec/90257900) between their export promotion agencies. With the Philippines, Chile [agreed](https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/11/02/news/national/marcos-boric-fast-track-philippines-chile-cepa-free-trade-deal-at-apec/2213635) to fast-track a draft trade agreement; the Philippines also [announced](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/03/philippines-peru-exploring-free-trade-deal) that it would launch a committee to explore a free trade deal with Peru. Mexico and Vietnam [held talks](https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1728624/viet-nam-mexico-seek-ways-to-boost-bilateral-trade-cooperation.html) to boost economic ties.
The meetings built on some existing trade agreements. Though APEC is a forum rather than a free trade zone, Chile, Mexico, and Peru [are all members](https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership?utm_source=chatgpt.com) of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. (The United States was part of talks on creating a precursor to the CPTPP in the 2010s, but Trump [withdrew](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38721056) from the process in 2017.)
Comments are closed.