The symposium "Challenges of Raw Materials Trade. Europe - Latin America, the Caribbean” is organised by the Institut des Amériques, in collaboration with the Europe - Latin America and Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC), the Agence française de développement (AFD) and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) in the framework of the Latin America and Caribbean Weeks.
Latin America and the Caribbean are among the areas where important deposits of raw materials are located. On the other side of the Atlantic, Europe has above all been one of the areas of consumption of raw materials, which has largely shaped the historical relations forged with Latin America and the Caribbean. In that context, the Symposium will address the following questions:
How can we reconcile the need for a growing diversity of raw materials, which is leading to the advance of extractive fronts, with the imperatives of environmental protection and respect for social rights, but also the expectations of local actors in terms of economic benefits? What development and governance models can be set up around the exploitation of resources? Is it possible to build regional and bi-regional cooperation, when at the national level the debate crystallizes around the issues of energy sovereignty or sovereignty over deposits? And, more broadly, how can we overcome the asymmetry of relations between the countries that supply raw materials and the countries that invest in, purchase and then transform these products?
