The Editor regrets that the 1 April 20 Edition is being published in reduced form due to logistical and technical difficulties stemming from the Covid-19 Health Emergency and resultant National Lockdowns. We wish our readers and contributors all the very best in these difficult times.
"Stay home, be calm, be kind, we can break the chain." -
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
"I choose to take care of lives" -
Argentine President Alberto Fernández sacrifices economy to ward off virus
The coronavirus landed in Latin America on February 26, when Brazil confirmed a case in São Paulo. Since then, governments across the region have taken an array of actions to protect their citizens and contain COVID-19’s spread.
Aside from the health risks, there will be an economic impact as well. On March 2, the OECD decreased global GDP growth expectations for the year by half a point to 2.4 percent. Prior to the epidemic, the IMF predicted 1.6 percent GDP growth for the Latin American region for 2020. In a perfect storm for economies, dropping oil prices have added to a plunge in Latin American markets and currencies.
AS/COA Online takes a look at measures taken and economic impact felt in Latin America.
EMA BusinessPlus Magazine International Trade Columnist - Thomas Manning 31 March 2020
Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes Magazine international trade commentator, believes coronavirus will be China’s swan song and says “there is no way China can be the low-cost, world manufacturer anymore, those days are coming to an end”.
After emerging in Wuhan the Covid-19 virus has turned global trade on its head by disrupting critical supply chains from China to international markets and the shutdown of national economies worldwide are classic examples of ‘force majeure’ which the Oxford Dictionary defines as a legal term for “Unforeseeable circumstances that prevent the fulfilment of contracts and business as usual”.
The health emergencies Covid-19 has caused across the globe are accurately described by Oxford’s alternate definition of “Irresistible compulsion or greater force”.
China has markedly slowed Covid-19 infections by aggressively quarantining entire cities and closing factories & ports but this has been at a huge and as yet unpaid cost to its economy and trading partners......[click here for full article}
