Mexico City, April 5.—During a virtual summit attended today by presidents of eleven countries, including Mexico, they agreed on actions to “advance in defining trade facilitation,” as well as logistical and financial measures” that allow the exchange of basic food basket products and intermediate goods “under better conditions, with the priority of reducing the costs of these products for the poorest and most vulnerable populations.”
Grouped in the Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Countries Against Inflation, and convened by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador "to find joint solutions to the price pressures and shortages present in the region, as well as to strengthen regional integration and trade," the leaders released the agreement, which clarifies that these measures will take into consideration the reality of each nation, international regulations, and the trade agreements each has in force.
In addition to President López Obrador, the meeting was attended by the President of Honduras, and the Presidents of Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the latter in his capacity as President Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The assessment made at the summit states that "the global supply of food and basic food products, including grains and energy, is being negatively affected as a result of an adverse international context stemming from the effects of the multidimensional crisis affecting the global economy, marked by extra-regional military conflicts and a slow recovery of operations in the production and distribution chains of goods, products, and services following the COVID-19 pandemic."
