US President Joe Biden’s administration presented a new proposal for US economic partnership with Latin America on Wednesday as regional leaders met at a US-based summit, which has already sparked disagreement on the guest list.
Seeking to counter China’s growing sphere of influence, a senior US government official said Biden offered an alternative to US neighbors to the south, calling for greater US involvement, including increased investment, strengthening supply and the evolution of existing trade deals.
However, Biden’s “Partnership for Economic Welfare”, which appears to be still a work in progress, fails to deliver tariff reductions and will initially focus on “alike partners” that already exist, according to the US official. trade agreements with the USA. He added that negotiations should start from the end of September.
Biden is expected to detail his plan in a speech Wednesday to formally open the summit, which was originally designed as a platform to show US leadership in reviving Latin American economies and addressing immigration pressures.
US officials hope the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles and a parallel meeting of senior executives can pave the way for greater economic cooperation in the region as countries seek to bring supply chains closer together amid rising inflation.
“For us, having a supply chain in America is much better than relying on a supply chain from China,” Ken Salazar, the US Ambassador to Mexico, told Reuters at the summit.
The US official said Biden is trying to push his administration’s competitive goals against China by launching a new partnership for the region.
Washington, which already has a joint agreement with Canada and Mexico, another collective with Central American countries, and a number of bilateral agreements in the region, will seek to develop new standards for customs, digital trade and environmental responsibility. to authority.
The Biden administration described the summit as an opportunity for the United States to reaffirm its commitment to Latin America, after years of comparative neglect by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
But tensions permeated the preparations.
Diplomatic fissures began this week when Washington chose not to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, arguing that their records in human rights and democracy make that impossible.
The Mexican president, who rejected a request from all countries to be invited, said he would stay out, diverting attention from Biden’s goals and regional divisions.
Leaders of Guatemala and Honduras, two of the top senders of immigrants to the United States, also said they would undermine efforts by Biden officials to issue a “statement” on joint plans to combat the phenomenon.
Still, according to the organizers, leaders from more than 20 countries in the region will be there, including Canada, Brazil and Argentina.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
