23 September, 2025On 16 September, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, IndustriALL Global Union brought together experts and its affiliates in Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss strategies to meet the challenges surrounding trade, production and industrial integration in the region, amid concerns over the impact of global uncertainty on employment, freedom of association and human rights.
The seminar, held under the heading “Challenges for trade and industrial integration in Latin America and the Caribbean”, was attended by IndustriALL’s general secretary, Atle Høie, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lucineide Varjão, assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, members of the regional executive committee, union leaders from affiliated organisations and guest experts.
Atle Høie opened the event by congratulating IndustriALL regional office in Latin America and the Caribbean, its affiliates and the regional executive committee for the discussions underway on the issue. He also expressed concern about the challenges of establishing rules and international trade that includes all countries and provides stability and predictability.
He said:
“What we are seeing today is massive industrial job losses around the globe due to low investment and uncertainty about future trade between countries. The impact of this will be low growth and fewer jobs in 2026.”
Høie called on the affiliates in the region to contribute to the discussions on trade and industrialisation, based on their experiences, at the IndustriALL Congress to be held from 4 to 7 November 2025 in Australia.
The main political, economic and trade union challenges facing the region were addressed during the meeting, analysing the situation in the region and worldwide. The need was emphasised to build a trade union agenda that anticipates and responds to changes in international trade and production dynamics.
The main topics addressed included the impacts of US tariff policies on Latin America’s economies and regional supply chains. Strategies were also discussed for dealing with an international context marked by slowing economic growth and increasing geopolitical instability.
Virtual panel discussions were held with Camila Gramkow, economist and interim director at the ECLAC office in Brazil, and Pedro Silva Barrios, a doctor in Latin American integration and researcher at IPEA (Institute of Applied Economic Research – Ministry of Planning and Budget, Brazil). Both of them emphasised the importance of strengthening regional integration mechanisms and reindustrialisation policies, given the continued low growth forecasts for 2026.
Another focal point for discussion was presented by Kemal Özkan IndustriALL assistant general secretary, who outlined the due diligence laws in force in several European countries and their importance in the fight to ensure decent work, freedom of association and human rights. Özkan noted with concern the business trend of resisting their implementation in Europe, offering an international perspective to help strengthen trade union actions and strategies.
The meeting drew to a close with reflections on how to tackle the shared challenges affecting our economies, strengthening dialogue and joint action in the defence of workers’ rights and interests.
IndustriALL’s regional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Marino Vani, concluded:
“The seminar was a success, with high level discussions and quality contributions from members of the executive committee, affiliates and panellists. As industrial workers and trade unions, we came away with ideas and proposals to share with the various stakeholders and to contribute to this crucial and strategic debate on trade, production and industrial integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.”