The United States has neglected the Western Hemisphere, allowing China to gain influence and fuel instability. A new "Americas Act" would create an Americas Partnership to expand trade, counter China's influence, promote democracy, and improve people-to-people connections.
The United States has deep and lasting ties to Latin America and the Caribbean. We share languages, values, cultures, and economic interests in a rapidly changing world. The Western Hemisphere has over a billion people and an economy worth over $37 trillion. We grow enough food and produce enough critical minerals to sustain every country in the hemisphere. Our region, the "Americas," has the potential for exponential growth—but tapping that potential requires a new approach.
U.S. policymakers have historically treated the Western Hemisphere as an afterthought. This neglect has led to incoherent and inconsistent U.S. policies. The United States can no longer afford to ignore the Western Hemisphere. China has taken notice of our absence and has used this opportunity to expand its influence and fuel instability in the region. This instability, coupled with economic insecurity, is a primary driver of illegal immigration to the United States. Recently, the evidence of China’s predatory trade practices is becoming well documented. Most favored nation status has allowed China to flood the American market with cheap goods while they refuse to buy American. Their mercantilism hurts the consumers and businesses in the Americas.
As the dominant economy of the Americas, the United States has a responsibility to help develop our hemisphere. The Americas Act would usher in real change across the region. It creates an Americas Partnership to expand U.S. trade and markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, it counters the uneven playing field China has built using forced labor, deceptive trade practices, and manipulation of supply chains.
The Americas Partnership would unify Western Hemisphere democracies in combatting corruption, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, harmonizing standards, reducing barriers to foreign direct investment, and promoting real private sector large-scale infrastructure investments. Additionally, the Americas Act offers tax incentives for companies in strategic industries to bring critical supply chains back from China.
To improve the existing, successful financing systems in place, the Americas Act creates a Build Americas Unit within the Development Finance Corporation. This investment bank is tailored to enhance the hemisphere's critical investment needs. For every dollar we trade within our hemisphere, we grow more prosperous and create lasting jobs in the U.S. and throughout the hemisphere. By fostering trade and economic growth, the Americas Act will counter China's predatory economic influence in the region.
The Americas Act establishes a special U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement unit to exclude Uyghur forced labor from the shared supply chains and creates a program to facilitate Latin America's energy transition and security. By strengthening our security cooperation with regional partners, the Americas Act will help to combat transnational crime, drug trafficking, and other threats to our collective security.
The Americas Act recognizes the vital importance of people-to-people connections. The act will improve already-strong people-to-people connections by expanding scholarship programs, creating a new American University of the Americas in the region, funding English language education, and establishing a new CARE visa, among other initiatives. By investing in our shared future, the Americas Act will help to build a stronger, more prosperous, and more democratic hemisphere.
Perhaps most important, our program is fully paid for. It will cost only as much money as it brings in by closing a trade loophole that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exploits to bring in 6 billion packages without paying duties and taxes. Known as "de minimis," it's the most egregious trillion-dollar free trade agreement with China that has gone under the radar for far too long.
The Americas Act is anchored by Western Hemisphere countries' shared commitment to freedom, democracy, and opportunity. It will be the cornerstone upon which we build a stronger hemisphere. By investing in our shared future, the United States can help to create a more prosperous, more secure, and more democratic region. The Americas Act is a bold and innovative proposal that has the potential to transform the Western Hemisphere. It is time for the United States to show leadership and help our neighbors to build a better future.
