LatinNews Daily - 28 May 2024

*Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo has said that the government has yet to receive official information from Chinese authorities regarding their refusal to allow certain Guatemalan exports to enter the country, as reported the previous day by Guatemala’s exporters’ association (Agexport). In a statement expressing concern, on 23 May Agexport reported that at least seven containers of Macadamia nuts had been refused entry to China while coffee exporters also reported that coffee shipments had been denied entry. Along with Belize, Guatemala is the only other country in Central America, previously a bastion of support for Taiwan, to maintain relations with Taipei, after Honduras became the latest country to make the switch to mainland China last year. The apparent refusal by China to allow Guatemalan shipments into the country follows the recent visit by Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez to Taiwan where he attended the inauguration on 20 May of the new President Lai Ching-Te. In February the Arévalo government reaffirmed ties with Taiwan, appearing to quell speculation that Guatemala could be considering a possible switch to Beijing. The 23 May Agexport statement highlights that while mainland China and Guatemala lack a free trade agreement, bilateral trade amounts to some US$5.58bn, of which Guatemala’s exports totalled US$82m. It highlights as leading exports, coffee, nickel, iron, steel, and Macadamia nuts.