ECLAC Presents Annual Report on Latin America and the Caribbean’s Foreign Trade in 2023

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will release on Thursday, November 2 its flagship annual report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2023. Structural change and trends in global and regional trade: challenges and opportunities, which examines the behavior of foreign trade in the region’s economies in the current year, with the most recent figures available on the performance of countries’ exports and imports.

This edition of the document consists of three chapters: the first addresses the global context and regional trade; the second, trade relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and China; and the third, the state of trade facilitation in the region.

This report, which is prepared each year by ECLAC’s International Trade and Integration Division, will be presented during a hybrid press conference (in-person and virtual) at the organization’s central headquarters in Santiago, Chile, at 11:00 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT -3:00), led by the Commission’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

Members of the media are invited to attend this press conference, which will be held in ECLAC’s building (Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile, Celso Furtado conference room). Journalists must have their media credentials or their IDs with them to gain entry and must get accredited in advance by sending an email to prensa@cepal.org.

The press conference will also be transmitted live via Zoom at the following link:

https://cepal-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DCFHSZ-OQO2aL2cAw-68iQ

Journalists interested in participating virtually must register in advance. They will receive an automated email with instructions for joining.

The press conference will also be transmitted on the home page of the institution’s website, at https://live.cepal.org/ and on its social media accounts on X-Twitter (@cepal_onu) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu). Journalists are requested to submit their questions ahead of time by email to conferenciaprensa@cepal.org, and ECLAC’s experts will respond to them during the presentation of the document. Questions will only be taken until 11:30 a.m. local time.

According to the report, regional trade of goods and services (both exports and imports) is exhibiting a notable downward trend in 2023, in line with global trends, due to the deceleration of GDP at a global level in a context marked by contractionary monetary policies in the United States and Europe, the real estate sector crisis in China, and growing links between trade and geopolitics. The estimated magnitudes of this decline will be revealed by ECLAC’s Executive Secretary during the press conference.

The full electronic version of this new annual report by ECLAC, along with a press release and the Executive Secretary’s presentation of its main conclusions (in PDF), will be made available on ECLAC’s website on that same Thursday, November 2, as soon as the press conference has concluded.

What: Press conference to launch ECLAC’s flagship annual report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2023. Structural change and trends in global and regional trade: challenges and opportunities.

Who: José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, and Commission experts in charge of preparing the report.

When: Thursday, November 2, 2023, 11:00 a.m. local time in Chile (UTC/GMT -03:00).

Where: ECLAC’s headquarters (Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile, Celso Furtado conference room).

Also by virtual connection via the Zoom platform (prior registration required):

https://cepal-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DCFHSZ-OQO2aL2cAw-68iQ

And on the home page of ECLAC’s website and at https://live.cepal.org/.

For queries and to arrange interviews, contact ECLAC’s Public Information Unit. Email: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56) 22210 2040.