Commerce struggle is alternative for Latin America

MercadoLibre CEO Marcos Galperin

CNBC

The CEO of Argentina’s MercadoLibre — often called the Amazon of Latin America — sees big opportunity for Latin America in the U.S.-China trade war.

“If Latin America plays its cards well, I think could benefit from this volatility,” MercadoLibre CEO and founder Marcos Galperin told CNBC’s Robert Frank on the sidelines of Riverwood Capital Management’s LatAm Tech Forum in Miami.

Galperin is Argentina’s richest person with an $8.7 billion fortune by Forbes’ estimate.

Shares of MercadoLibre, an e-commerce and payments firm, have surged by nearly 30% this year, while Amazon, facing massive exposure to President Donald Trump’s wide-sweeping tariffs, is down 15%.

Galperin told CNBC that Latin American firms, especially in Mexico, stand to gain from escalating tensions between U.S. and one if its chief trade partners. He noted that many American companies have already moved their manufacturing operations to Mexico from China and other Asian countries.

Mexico has a free trade agreement with the U.S. that means some imports from the country are exempt from Trump’s tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexican goods.

The U.S. president has hit China hardest, however, with a 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods.

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Galperin said Friday he believes there will be a “permanent shift” in U.S.-China trade relations.

“I don’t know how it’s going to end, but I think the situation where everything was manufactured in China and was consumed in the U.S., and China bought T-bills and in a way financed that, I think that dynamic is kind of over,” he said.

Argentina, Galperin’s home country, has a long history of protectionist policies including high tariffs. Argentine president Javier Milei, who has described Trump as an ally, has slashed tariffs and import restrictions since his inauguration in late 2023.

“I think what Milei is doing is great for Argentina,” Galperin said of the free-market reforms.

However, he warned there will be growing pains.

“I hope it works,” he said. “Changes are painful, and I hope that people have the patience and the time to give him to see that these changes in the medium and long term really create benefits for for everyone.”