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UN body projects uneven trade recovery for LatAm

AFP

Latin America will see a 25 percent rise in the value of goods exports for 2021, after a drop of 10 percent in 2020, a UN regional commission said Wednesday.

The projected increase was due mainly to higher prices for basic products such as minerals, hydrocarbons and agro-industrial products, rather than greater volume, said a report by the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Imports too would rise by about 32 percent in value, it added.

The ECLAC said exports of services have not recovered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, representing a “significant” weakness for trade expansion.

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“Specifically, the regional dependence on tourism is much greater than the global average, which has meant that the uncertainty surrounding the re-opening of this sector negatively affects the prospects of various economies, especially those in the Caribbean,” it said.

ECLAC said the situation should prompt reflection about deepening regional economic integration.

“Moving towards an integrated regional market is indispensable, not only for generating efficient scales of production and promoting processes of productive and export diversification, but also for achieving greater autonomy in strategic sectors,” it said.

The commission pointed to several areas of potential concern for global trade, including an uneven pace of vaccination, new virus variants, inflationary pressures and trade tensions, as well as risks in China’s real estate sector, disruptions in supply chains and increased freight costs.

“It is calculated that the average global cost of maritime container shipping has risen by more than 660 percent from June 2019 to date,” it said.

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International

Brazil’s Lula wishes Trump a successful term focused on prosperity and peace

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wished the new U.S. President, Donald Trump, a “successful” term that promotes “prosperity and well-being for the U.S. people” and “a fairer and more peaceful world.”

“On behalf of the Brazilian government, I congratulate President Donald Trump on his inauguration,” said the progressive leader on his social media, shortly after Trump took the oath of office at the Capitol in Washington.

Lula, 79, highlighted that the relationship between Brazil and the United States, one of its most important trade partners, is “marked by a history of cooperation, based on mutual respect and historical friendship.”

“Our countries maintain strong ties in various areas such as trade, science, education, and culture. I am confident that we can continue to make progress in these and other areas,” he added.

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International

Iran hopes U.S. will adopt realistic approaches under Trump administration

Iran declared on Monday that it hopes the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump will adopt “realistic approaches” toward Tehran and show “respect” for the interests of the countries in the region.

The Republican tycoon will take the oath for his second term as president of the United States on Monday at noon Washington time (17:00 GMT).

“We hope that the approaches and policies of the new U.S. government will be realistic and based on respect for the interests… of the countries in the region, including the Iranian nation,” said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, during a weekly press briefing.

During his first term (2017-2021), Trump implemented a “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran.

In 2018, under his administration, the United States withdrew from the international nuclear deal with Iran, concluded three years earlier, which offered Tehran relief from sanctions in exchange for assurances that the country would not seek to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran denies any such intentions.

In response, Tehran significantly increased its stockpile of enriched materials and raised the enrichment threshold to 60%, approaching the 90% required to produce an atomic bomb, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Tehran, which has expressed a desire to relaunch negotiations to revive the deal, defends its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop nuclear weapons.

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International

Trump to sign executive order recognizing only two sexes

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“What we are doing today is defining that the policy of the United States is to recognize two sexes: male and female,” said the official, speaking to the press on the condition of anonymity.

The aim of the decree is “to defend women against the ideological extremism of gender and to restore biological truth within the Federal Government,” the official added, explaining that a person’s sexual identity will be defined solely by the gametes they possess.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to put an end to the “transgender delusion.”

The elected president also plans to eliminate federal funding for programs supporting diversity in the administration, the same officials from his incoming cabinet stated.

“We are going to end this type of funding, we are going to put an end to these programs,” said one source from the future team, speaking anonymously about antiracism and diversity training courses.

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