¿Por qué Gran Bretaña busca mejorar sus relaciones con Sudamérica?

 

Global Insider: U.K.-South America Relations

By The Editors | 15 Aug 2011

The U.K. recently announced plans to cooperate with Bolivia against drug trafficking, following a diplomatic overture to Brazil in June. In an email interview, Juliana Bertazzo, an associate at the London School of Economics and an associate fellow at the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of London, discussed U.K.-South America relations.

WPR: What is the recent history of the U.K.'s relations with South America?

Juliana Bertazzo: The most significant recent event is a new rapprochement between the U.K. and individual South American countries after Argentina's latest attempt to gather multilateral support for its claim on the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. The Argentine government has expressed its outrage at the U.K.'s decision to start offshore oil and natural gas exploration and military exercises around the islands. Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) then issued declarations supporting Argentina, and individual nations promised to deny entry to their ports for U.K. ships bound to or from the Falklands, and to report shipments of oil and natural gas from the islands. However, the British government has been successful at establishing cooperation, for instance, with Colombia, in the fight against drug trafficking, and with Brazil, on a number of issues, including business opportunities involved in hosting the Olympic games.

WPR: What are the U.K.'s trade priorities in South America, in terms of countries and sectors?

Bertazzo: About half of the exports from South American countries to the U.K. are commodities, but the other half includes valuable semi-manufactured and manufactured goods, such as airplanes, which are one of the top 20 products that Brazil exports to the U.K. The U.K. in turn exports the fungicides and machines that keep agriculture going in Brazil, as well as mechanical parts and automobiles made from the mining goods imported from Brazil. However, when it comes to Argentina, the second-largest country in South America, the U.K. has little to show in terms of trade. Even after the U.K. lifted its arms embargo on Argentina in 1998, bilateral trade did not grow very much.

WPR: How does the U.K.'s involvement in South America compare with that of other major actors, notably the U.S. and China?

Bertazzo: The U.K. recently singled out Brazil as one of the "High Growth Markets" where it hopes to do more business. Brazil is the largest trading partner of the Mercosur countries -- the other members are Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay -- and also of other South American countries, except for those that have free trade agreements with the U.S. or NAFTA. So far, the U.K. does not compare well with other major actors in terms of trade. While the U.K.'s share of Brazilian trade is roughly 2 percent, the U.S. and China have a combined share of around 20 percent of the balance of trade and are close competitors for first place. Brazil is China's 10th largest trade partner, and the volume of their bilateral trade by far exceeds that of U.K.-China trade. In political terms, apart from the Falkland Islands issue, relations have been generally positive and recent visits from U.K. government representatives hint at a renewed interest in South America.