US is ‘blowing everyone away’,Trump dismisses China-Latin America growing trade ties
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US is ‘blowing everyone away’,Trump dismisses China-Latin America growing trade ties")
US President Donald Trump speaks after signing a presidential proclamation honoring the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 14, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
As Trump continues to impose higher tariffs on Latin American countries, China is growing closer to them. Trump is shrugging off any such concerns, but China's growing influence in the US neighbourhood will have long-term implications.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday downplayed concerns about the growing economic engagement of Mexico, Brazil and Other Latin American countries with China, claiming that the US remains far ahead of everyone else in global economic performance.
During a brief at the White House, Trump said, “You know, none of them are doing very well, and what we’re doing in terms of economics, we’re blowing everyone away, including China. We’re doing better than any other country in the world right now.
Trump's remark comes as there is a growing shift of Latin American nations towards China. Specifically, Brazil has mounted its effort to conjure a multilateral response to the US 50 per cent tariff. Earlier this week, Brazilian President Lula da Silva spoke for an hour with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the “BRICS bloc’s role in countering unilateral trade measures". Mexico, despite being a close trade partner of the US through the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), has sought relations with China and is looking for investment opportunities from China in electric vehicle and battery production.
The United States has connected the tariffs with Brazil's internal political situation and the arrest of Bolsonaro. The US have also alleged Brazil of imposing “tremendous tariffs” for years and making trade “very difficult”, despite maintaining a $7 billion surplus with Brazil last year. Trump referred to Brazil as “one of the worst countries on Earth” in terms of trade.
“They made it very difficult to do anything,” Trump said. “So now they’re being charged 50 per cent tariffs, and they’re not happy, but that’s the way it goes.”
Mexico has also deepened its relationship with China. According to a report by the newspaper El Economista, Mexican export to the Chinese market reached a record US$5.2 billion in the first half of 2025. The geopolitical implications of China’s growing foothold in the Western Hemisphere might not be desirable to the US in the long run.
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