中南米、トランプ関税に結束呼びかけ ＣＥＬＡＣ首脳会議

【テグシガルパ（ホンジュラス）ＡＦＰ＝時事】中南米カリブ海諸国共同体（ＣＥＬＡＣ）の首脳会議が９日、ホンジュラスの首都テグシガルパで開催され、ブラジルのルイス・イナシオ・ルラ・ダシルバ大統領は、トランプ米政権による「恣意的」な関税政策を強く非難した。他の出席首脳も、トランプ関税に対抗するための地域の団結を呼びかけた。（写真はホンジュラス・テグシガルパで開催された中南米カリブ海諸国共同体〈ＣＥＬＡＣ〉首脳会議の様子）
　ＣＥＬＡＣは３３か国から構成されており、今回の会議には、中南米地域で米国に代わる影響力の強化を狙う中国も参加した。
　ルラ大統領は「恣意的な関税は国際経済を不安定にし、物価を押し上げる」と指摘。「貿易戦争に勝者はいないということを、歴史が教えてくれている」と語った。
　主催国ホンジュラスのシオマラ・カストロ大統領は、「世界が再編されつつある今、我々がバラバラに進むことは許されない」とし、「米国は誰が取り残されるかを問うことなく、勝手に経済の地図を描き直している」と非難した。
　メキシコのクラウディア・シェインバウム大統領も、「いまこそ中南米・カリブ海地域の政府と国民が結束を深め、地域統合を加速させるべき時だ」と強調した。
　中南米諸国の間では、米国を「不安定なパートナー」とみなす見方が強まる一方で、中国の影響力が拡大している。中国の巨大経済圏構想「一帯一路」には、この地域の３分の２が参加。中国はブラジル、ペルー、チリなどにとって最大の貿易相手国でもある。
　今回テグシガルパを訪れた中国外務省の中南米・カリブ局幹部は、７日からアルゼンチン、ブラジル、コロンビアなどで二国間会談を実施。５月１３日には中国・ＣＥＬＡＣ閣僚級会議が予定されており、習近平国家主席も出席する見通しだ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/04/10-17:49）

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday lambasted arbitrary US import tariffs at a summit of Latin American leaders that urged a united front against Donald Trump's economic measures.
Lula was among 11 heads of state gathered in Honduras for a meeting of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
It was also attended by China, which is seeking to replace the United States as the main political and economic influence in the region.
Arbitrary tariffs destabilize the international economy and raise prices, said Lula, the president of Latin America's biggest economy.
History teaches us that trade wars have no winners, he added.
On April 5, US trading partners were slapped with a 10-percent baseline tariff which remains in effect despite Trump backing down Wednesday on a host of other, more onerous duties announced last week.
Trump's tariffs -- some of them suspended and altered numerous times -- threaten economic disruption for CELAC economies.
Mexico is the United States' biggest trading partner and source of much of its car imports, while Brazil is its second-biggest provider of steel.
Gathered in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, CELAC leaders said unity of purpose was needed in these economically uncertain times.
We cannot continue walking separately when the world is reorganizing, host President Xiomara Castro said.
The United States is redrawing its economic map without asking which people are left behind, she added.
Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum said these were times of profound changes in global trade.
Today more than ever is a good time to recognize that Latin America and the Caribbean require unity and solidarity among their governments and peoples and to strengthen greater regional integration, she told the summit.
For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said CELAC members should help each other... let's not fall into the trap of solving problems alone.
- Beijing conference -
While Washington is increasingly seen as a volatile associate, China has been making inroads in the region.
Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined President Xi Jinping's trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure program, and China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others.
In Honduras, a Chinese delegation led by Qu Yuhui, Beijing's number two for Latin American Affairs, has been holding bilateral meetings with CELAC delegates since Monday -- including envoys from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba.
Beijing also plans to host a China-CELAC ministerial conference on May 13, to be attended by Xi.
China is set to increase its influence in Latin America; it is a gift from the United States, Peruvian international relations analyst Francisco Belaunde told AFP.
China wants to appear now as a reliable partner that is in favor of free trade, it wants to take advantage of the mess generated by Trump and the annoyance of all countries over these tariffs, he added.