US president unveils Latin América economic plan, promises ‘ambitious actions’ at summit marred by diplomatic snubs.
By Aljazeera
Jun 9, 2022
Joe Biden, the president of the United States, has kicked off a regional summit marred by discord over the guest list by announcing a proposed new economic partnership with Latin América and the Caribbean aimed at countering China’s growing clout.
Hosting the Summit of the Américas in Los Ángeles on Wednesday, Biden sought to assure the assembled leaders about his administration’s commitment to the region despite nagging concerns that the US, at times, is still trying to dictate to its poorer southern neighbours.
The lineup of visiting heads of state and government in attendance was thinned down to 21 after Biden excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, prompting Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador and several other leaders to stay away in protest.
Speaking at a gala opening ceremony, Biden said countries in the Americas have “to invest in making sure our trade is sustainable and responsible in creating supply chains that are more resilient, more secure and more sustainable”.
The Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity “will help economies grow from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down,” he said. “What’s true in the United States is true in every country. Trickle down economics does not work.”
Biden is seeking to present Latin American and Caribbean countries with an alternative to China that calls for increased US economic engagement, including more investment and building on existing trade deals.
Data shows that China has widened the gap with the US in trade terms in large parts of Latin America since Biden came into office in January 2021. A Reuters news agency analysis of UN trade data from 2015-2021 shows that outside of México, the top US trade partner, China has overtaken Washington in Latin America and increased its advantage last year.
“The best antidote to China’s inroads in the region is to ensure that we are forwarding our own affirmative vision for the region economically,” a senior US official said ahead of the summit.
However, Biden’s partnership, which still appears to be a work in progress, stops short of offering tariff relief and, according to the official, will initially focus on “like-minded partners” that already have US trade accords.
Negotiations are expected to begin in early northern fall, the official added.
Diplomatic snubs
The Summit of the Américas in Los Ángeles is the first in the US since the inaugural edition in 1994, and was conceived as a platform to showcase Washington’s leadership in reviving Latin American and Caribbean economies, and tackling record levels of irregular migration at the US-México border.
But Biden’s agenda has been undermined by the partial boycott by leaders upset at Washington’s decision not to invite the three countries it says violate human rights and democratic values – Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Instead of Guatemala’s president, Biden shook hands with the foreign minister. He next greeted the minister of public affairs for El Salvador, the foreign minister for Honduras and then México’s secretary of foreign affairs.
His administration, however, insists the summit can be successful despite the absence of several key leaders.
“Our region is large and diverse. We don’t always agree on everything,” Biden said in his speech. “But because we’re democracies, we work through our disagreements with mutual respect and dialogue.”
The gathering, he promised, would involve “bold ideas, ambitious actions” that would “demonstrate to our people the incredible power of democracies to deliver concrete benefits and make life better for everyone”.
The US president went on to preview a summit declaration on migration to be rolled out on Friday, calling it “a ground-breaking, integrated new approach” with shared responsibility across the hemisphere.
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Read More: Aljazeera – Americas Summit: Biden pledges economic help, ‘ambitious actions’
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