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Trade Relationship Between the United States and Latin American

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Describe the trade relationship between the United States and Latin American countries during the last half century. How do past Latin American trade practices affect the region today?

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This solution describes the trade relationship between the United States and Latin American countries during the last half century, as well as explaining how past Latin American trade practices affect the region today.

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Interesting history, indeed. Please see response attached for complete response (some of which is presented below), as well as one supporting document. I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

1. Describe the trade relationship between the United States and Latin American countries during the last half-century. How do past Latin American trade practices affect the region today?

Latin America: From a cultural point of view Latin America is a cultural region of the American continents consisting of countries where the official and predominantly-used language is Spanish ; French; and/or Portuguese, all Latin-based (Romance languages). Some people also include non-independent states or regions, such as South Florida or Québec because of their heavy Latin populations. However, taking a Social-political perspective, including only independent countries, it corresponds roughly all nations south of the Rio Grande, consisting of Mexico (in North America), most of Central America, most of South America and the countries of the Caribbean where Spanish, French, Portuguese or creoles based on those languages are spoken. Following that criteria, Latin America is divided into 20 independent countries and several dependent political units. Brazil is by far the largest country in Latin America both in area and in population. It occupies more than 40 percent of the region's land area and has about a third of its people. Curiously, its official language (Portuguese) is unique in Latin America, as it is only spoken there. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574914_5/South_America.html#p36

Earlier: A basic Roosevelt foreign policy was the Good Neighbor Policy toward Latin America. The phrase "good neighbor," used by the president in his first inaugural address, meant in practice that the United States would no longer intervene in Latin America to protect private American property interests. American support for the savage Cuban dictatorship of Gerardo Machado was withdrawn, and a revolution soon turned him out. The removal of the last U.S. Marines from Haiti in 1934 ended direct financial control by the United States. Secretary of State Hull's reciprocal trade program, which resulted in several agreements with Latin American republics, lowered trade barriers on some goods and was thus popular in many Central and South American nations. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562953_6/Franklin_D_Roosevelt.html#p64

South America: Most of South America's trade is intercontinental, the United States, Western Europe, and Japan being major trading partners. Petroleum and its derivatives are the principal components of foreign trade. Brazil and Venezuela dominate the continent's export trade, and Brazil accounts for much of the imports. Intra-continental trade has been fostered since the 1960s by regional trade associations, the most important of which is the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), formerly known as the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA). Commodities such as wheat, cattle, wine, and bananas are principal items of intra-continental trade, and manufactured goods are of growing importance. Nevertheless, the continent's external trade in agricultural and mining commodities remains more important than the internal trade of these commodities. South America contributes significantly to world trade in petroleum, coffee, copper, bauxite, fish meal, and oilseed; trade in these and other primary goods is essential to the underwriting of the continent's economic development. ...

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