More Carrots and Less Sticks
From Mexico Matters by Center for Strategic and International Studies
May 15, 2025 · 36 min
About this episode
Mariana discusses China's growing influence in Latin America and the US's shifting policy under the Trump Administration with Dr. Ryan Berg.
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Dr. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at CSIS, about China’s increased presence in Latin America, transforming itself from a distant economic partner into a central player in Latin America’s trade, infrastructure, and key strategic technology sectors. They also discuss how the new Trump Administration appears to be abandoning a policy of strategic neglect and is turning its attention towards the region. In addition, they discuss how Latin American countries don’t want to pick between the two biggest world economies and how the US can solve this dilemma by offering private-public partnerships in key strategic sectors. Lastly, they analyze how various Latin countries are following the US in raising tariffs to protect their own industries from Chinese overcapacity, and why Mexico must live up to its commitment and start tracking Chinese investment in the country, particularly in sensitive areas to maintain the trust of the Trump Administration.
People in this episode
Host: Mariana
Guest: Dr. Ryan Berg
Topics covered
- China in Latin America
- US foreign policy
- trade relations
- tariffs
- private-public partnerships
Keywords
- China
- Latin America
- Trump Administration
- trade
- tariffs
- investment
- public-private partnerships
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CSIS
Places: Latin America, Trump Administration, Mexico, US, China
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