US frets about ‘erosion of influence’ as China and Ecuador move closer to a free-trade deal
- A free-trade deal with Ecuador would be China’s fourth with a Latin American country, after signing agreements with Chile, Costa Rica and Peru
- The warming relations have fuelled calls in the United States to open trade talks with Ecuador to counter China’s growing influence in the region
As Ecuador and China move closer towards sealing a free-trade agreement, concern is mounting in Washington that the United States is losing influence in Latin America.
Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said early in December that negotiations with China on a bilateral free-trade deal (FTA) were “practically closed”, some 10 months after talks started. The deal is expected to boost the value of Ecuadorean exports to China to US$1 billion, while offering Chinese firms access to an array of raw materials.
“Without further US engagement,” wrote senators Bob Menendez and Rob Portman last week, “the United States risks losing market opportunities for American companies and the potential erosion of our influence in the region relative to China.”
China surpassed the US as Ecuador’s biggest export destination for non-oil products in the first seven months of the year, with shrimp and copper concentrate the leading export products.
Ecuador’s exports to China exceeded US$6.2 billion between January and November, with the South American nation recording a trade surplus for the first time. China’s exports stood at US$5.8 billion over the same period, according to Chinese customs data.