CELAC: Colombian President Proposes United Fight Against U.S. Tariffs
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, April 8, 2025. X/ @MigracionHND
April 9, 2025 Hour: 8:25 am
Gustavo Petro will promote a continental energy network and a regional agency for the production of essential medicines.
On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro proposed in Tegucigalpa that countries “act as a bloc” and “open up to the world” to confront the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Petro made this statement upon his arrival in Tegucigalpa, the host city of the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a group for which Colombia will assume the pro tempore presidency this Wednesday.
“First, act as a bloc; second, open up to the world. That’s why there will be meetings between CELAC and the European Union in November,” said the Colombian head of state to reporters.
On Wednesday, CELAC will hold its summit in Tegucigalpa at a time when its member countries are facing the trade war declared by the United States through the imposition of a 10% tariff on imports from Latin American countries, with the exception of Venezuela and Nicaragua, which will face higher rates of 15% and 18%, respectively.
In this context, Petro said there will also be a meeting between CELAC and China next May, although he did not specify the location of that gathering. He also stated that, in order to address the issue of tariffs, there will be another meeting between CELAC and Africa, and another with the countries of the Persian Gulf “at later dates.”
Tomorrow in Tegucigalpa, Petro will receive the pro tempore presidency of CELAC from the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro. In the second half of this year, CELAC will hold the 4th Summit with the European Union (EU) in Colombia.
Petro explained that Colombia’s priorities within CELAC will focus on promoting a continental energy network, a regional agency for the production of essential medicines, and coordination in key areas for the future: the space race, artificial intelligence, and quantum mathematics.
CELAC is an intergovernmental regional mechanism that promotes integration and development among Latin American and Caribbean countries. It is composed of the 33 sovereign states of Latin America and the Caribbean.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
