TRIVIA

With the economic recovery, Chile’s foreign trade has grown strongly. In the first 8 months of 2021, the country’s foreign trade totaled US$117,972 million, a 39% increase over the same period in 2020, which was marked by the pandemic. Of this total, US$56,741 million corresponded to imports of goods. How much do you think imports of supplies to combat COVID-19 (vaccines, PCR test kits, and needles, among others) amounted to during that period?

a) US$550 million

b) US$1,850 million

c) US$2.4 billion

ANSWER

Answer: C) According to the Undersecretariat for International Economic Relations (SUBREI), imports of supplies to combat COVID-19 totaled US$2,377 million in the first eight months of this year. This represents more than 4% of total goods imports for the period. The supplies came mainly from China, the U.S., Germany, India, France, South Korea, Ireland, Argentina, and Malaysia—all countries with which Chile has free trade agreements, the SUBREI notes.