The US needs a different perspective on Latin America

The global landscape is characterized by strategic competition between the US and China. Chinese investments in the Western Hemisphere have multiplied, especially in mining, electricity and infrastructure.

A notable example is the megaport of Chancay in Peru, the first deepwater port in Latin America. With an initial investment of $1.5 billion and increasing to $7 billion in the near future, it will be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping of China in November. This port will become a vital logistics hub, allowing efficient exports from Brazil to Asia and becoming the most important port in the Pacific for trade with China and other Asian countries.

As a leading world power, the US is called to be a strategic partner for the Western Hemisphere. The US needs a clear and differentiated vision of the region and its countries. Beyond the traditional view between allied and non-aligned countries, it is logical and natural that not all 47 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean share the same common interests with the US.

Even the current political landscape among traditional US partners in the region shows different levels of progress on the common agenda, as well as different opportunities available in each country to be positive actors in challenges that directly affect the US, from migration and security to democracy . and the threat of fentanyl. This is an opportunity to prioritize U.S. impact on countries that have strategic value, for example because of their natural resources and geography.

The varying degrees of economic and commercial integration between hemisphere countries and the US make the need for a different relationship even clearer. In 2023, the value of total trade between the US and the region fell by 1 percent. Of Washington’s ten most important trading partners in Latin America, four have a trade surplus with the US. While the US has the will to pursue near-shoring and friend-shoring policies, with significant support both in the administration and in the Capitol, this approach is not necessarily feasible, at least in the near future, as an overall policy for US economic reintegration toward the southern border.

To guarantee the intra-regional trade flows on which American prosperity depends, the US must prioritize partners in the region and provide them with a broader, attractive and fruitful relationship, taking into account the convergence of interests with each country. Building a more tangible political partnership by prioritizing the network of the ten existing trade agreements with Latin American democracies would be the right path to address the current challenges in the short term.

Regardless of which party is in the White House in 2025, a more comprehensive and strategic approach to partners in Latin America will be essential. Although Washington’s political appetite for free trade and long-term commitments has waned due to global political volatility, the fact is that Latin America is the region with the second most trade flows from the US (after Asia), with over $517 billion in 2023. The complex political and social challenges in Latin America are undeniable, but so is the economic and security relevance of the region.

If the US continues to withdraw from the opportunities and challenges that exist in the region, this will have a direct and negative impact on its own interests. Political pragmatism and global conditions should not compete with a geopolitical vision of the region. It is common knowledge that there are already other powers providing the trade and investment opportunities that the countries of the hemisphere need.

The future of U.S. leadership in Latin America depends almost exclusively on its commitment to the region. To address the challenges of migration, transnational organized crime, and illicit industries that undermine democratic institutions and governance, the U.S. must strengthen its ties with regional partners by strengthening economic relationships under existing trade agreements. On this foundation, lasting and mutually beneficial alliances can be built, similar to those currently supporting US global interests in Europe and Asia.

Twenty-eight countries in the region are now considered middle-income countries and are able to contribute their own resources to address current challenges and shared priorities. While this does not completely reduce the need for U.S. assistance—which is valuable in terms of capacity building, technology, and other resources derived from its soft power—the starting point for a new chapter in the U.S. relationship with America depends on U.S. political will. Yet the continued lack of attention to Latin America in the context of the 21st century is not encouraging.

A changing and increasingly challenging world only confirms the need for a renewed American geopolitical vision for the region, which is indispensable to America’s collective success.

Alfredo Ferrero is Peru’s ambassador to the US