Addressing heads of state and government from 11 countries, American President Joe Biden pledged to promote green bonds and facilitate the investment of billions of dollars in Latin America so that the region can “choose” between the US and the “debt trap” China.
Biden hosted the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Canada and Barbados as well as the foreign ministers of Mexico and Panama at the White House for the first summit of the Prosperity Economy in the Americas (Apep) alliance which everyone takes part.
“The United States is already by far the largest source of investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, and we will ensure that our closest neighbors know they can choose between debttrap diplomacy and highquality, transparent approaches to infrastructure and development,” Biden said.
The US accuses China, an inevitable trading partner in the region, of using debt to achieve strategic goals.
To counter Beijing’s growing influence, Biden announced that “the United States International Development Finance Corporation and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) are launching a new investment platform to provide billions of dollars to build sustainable infrastructure” in America.
He didn’t give any numbers, but the money will go mainly to “strengthening critical supply chains, modern ports, clean energy networks and digital infrastructure” because they are “the basic components” of a “competitive and resilient economy,” he said.
Green bonds
The energy transition and the protection of nature are also in the sights of Washington, which, in collaboration with the IDB, is committed to promoting a fund with green bonds, which will invest in environmental assets, and blue bonds, which specialize in the protection of the oceans and oceans are their ecosystems.
During the biennial summit, countries addressed one of the key issues at the regional level: supply chains, which have suffered severe disruptions due to the Covid19 pandemic.
In a final joint statement, the leaders acknowledged that the situation could repeat itself, for example due to the effects of climate change.
Therefore, they propose to “make regional value and supply chains more competitive, inclusive, sustainable and resilient globally,” focusing on three sectors: clean energy, medical supplies and semiconductors.
They also want to create a “regional accelerator for entrepreneurs and programs to support workforce development, particularly in the digital economy.”
Shortly before the summit there was a working breakfast with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
“None of us has a magic wand to increase productivity and create good jobs and higher wages,” but APEC countries are “well positioned” to benefit from “friendshoring,” she said, referring to production and supplies in geopolitically allied countries.
Yellen also hopes that countries in the region will benefit from an eventual increase in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) borrowing capacity if it achieves its goal of increasing member states’ shares.
migration
America “could become the most economically competitive region in the world,” Biden said.
But it must address challenges such as climate change, income inequality and, above all, illegal migration, which is a headache for the Democratic president, whom Republicans accuse of not doing enough to stop them at the border with Mexico.
To achieve this goal, he advocates addressing the crisis by “stabilizing migrant populations” wherever they are, granting them legal status and support, and promoting “safe and orderly” migration through programs that enable them work.
In a statement, the White House announced that the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain and the IDB will donate a total of 89 million US dollars (435 million R$) to a fund of this financial organization to support infrastructure and social services for migrants expand host communities in the region.
The United States has intercepted more than 2 million migrants crossing the border with Mexico without a visa since January, numbers that are weighing on Biden’s bid for reelection in the 2024 presidential election.
The summit ended with a “spirit of openness and inclusion” and called for other American countries to join Apep.