The International Trade Administration's online tool TradeStats shows that the U.S. exported over $500 billion of goods to Latin American and Caribbean nations in 2023. Over half of these exports were to Mexico, America’s second largest worldwide trading partner. Rounding out the total were $122 billion of U.S. exports to South America, $44 billion to Central America, and $34 billion to the Caribbean. Many experienced U.S. exporters began their export journey by selling to customers in this region before expanding to other parts of the world.
Free Trade Agreements help facilitate trade with the region. Currently, 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations either have bilateral or multilateral comprehensive free trade agreements with the U.S. A recent blog post highlighted reasons for U.S. exporters to consider doing business in countries that have free trade agreements and profiled a free online tool from the International Trade Administration that displays preferential tariff rates under them.
EXIM levels the playing field for U.S. exporters in the area as well. Of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, EXIM is open in all but seven at the time of this publication. Approximately 13.3% of EXIM’s portfolio exposure, or $4,526.1 billion of insurance, loans, guarantees, and outstanding claims receivable is in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the 2023 EXIM Annual Report. EXIM Country Guides for Mexico and Colombia, based on the U.S. Commercial Service’s Country Commercial Guides, identify market opportunities and strategies for American exporters, with more guides covering the region expected to be released soon.
Several recent EXIM Exporters of the Year have been small businesses that focused on exporting to the Latin American market, including 2024 recipient Delkor Systems, a Minnesota-based robotic packaging machinery manufacturer with customers in Mexico and South America:
"EXIM provides the type of financial assistance for our company to expand the level of international sales that we can properly manage," said Dale Anderson, President & CEO, Delkor Systems.
To learn more about EXIM’s financing support, click here to schedule a free consultation with an EXIM trade finance specialist.
