By Diego Oré
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -The head of the U.N. commission on Latin America, Jose Manuel Salazar, urged the region’s countries to diversify their export and import markets and to integrate their economies in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Rather than replacing imports, I would use the word diversify,” Salazar, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Reuters in an interview Thursday evening. He said the organization is recommending that its members renew alliances both inside and outside the region, since diversification would require a long-term commitment.
Salazar cited a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union that was finalized by negotiators in December after two decades of talks and is expected to get legislative approval soon.
He also called for exploring trade and investment channels with Asian and African countries, and for deepening regional integration in Latin America.
The United Nations commission supports economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Salazar, a Costa Rican economist, was in Mexico to attend a regional conference on women. He said progress has been made regarding women’s inclusion in Latin American economies, but more still needs to be done to close the gap in labor market participation.
Salazar also said that, due to aging populations and declining fertility rates in Latin America, the demand for care for older adults will increase. The commission has asked its members to allocate up to 4.7% of their GDP to invest in elder care infrastructure by 2035.
He said such spending could create up to 31 million jobs over the next decade in 23 countries in the region.
(Reporting by Diego Ore; Edited by Ana Isabel Martínez and Edmund Klamann)
