Summit of the Americas and Caribbean Trade

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I have just returned from the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, which gathered the heads of state and senior government officials from nearly every country in the Western Hemisphere, as well as hundreds of businesses, civil society, and youth leaders from across the region.

Members of a 20-person congressional delegation met with leaders from many of our neighboring countries, Chile, Jamaica, Canada, Haiti.

I had the opportunity to speak with the heads of state of many of our Caribbean neighbors. From these conversations, one thing was clear: Now more than ever, it is necessary for the United States to deepen its relationship with Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

With threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, democratic erosion, and climate change, my constituents in the Virgin Islands know all too well the collective challenges facing the hemisphere.

I thank the Biden administration for its commitment to productive engagement with Latin and Central America and the Caribbean. In Los Angeles, the administration announced the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, which calls for sustainable and inclusive trade; the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030; and the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration.

I strongly urge this administration to follow up on these commitments and promises with concrete actions that will deliver tangible results, particularly in the Caribbean because the Caribbean is facing an economic crisis. The pandemic has exacted a harsh toll on the region, with regional economic activity falling by 9.9 percent in 2020, significantly worse than the rest of the region.

Climate change poses a particularly dire threat to the lives, livelihood, and businesses in the Caribbean. For years, the harmful trend of financial de-risking by banks has economically strangled the Caribbean islands.

The Caribbean, which is our third border, is essential to U.S. national and economic security. From the early days of the American Revolution to the Cold War, the Caribbean has played a vital role in U.S. defense. It, alone, is the United States' sixth largest trade partner, with $35.3 billion of trade in 2018. And 13 million people in the U.S. share Caribbean ancestry.

Despite these common interests between the U.S. and the Caribbean, China is making significant inroads in this area. Indeed, total Chinese trade with Latin America and the Caribbean rose from $18 billion in 2002 to $449 billion in 2021, and China is now South America's largest trade partner.

Therefore, improving the U.S.-Caribbean relationship and strengthening the U.S.-Caribbean trade and economic partnership must be a priority for the administration and this Congress.

First, we must follow up on our commitments made at the summit with tangible results and concrete investments that correspond to the Caribbean's needs and for our national security.

Second, this Chamber must pass H. Res. 1047, which will reaffirm the economic partnership between the United States and the Caribbean nations, recognizing the need to strengthen trade and investments.

Third, we must authorize a general capital increase for the Inter- American Development Bank to ensure that the premier lending institutions for South America and the Caribbean have the resources to support the region in this difficult time.

I have introduced H.R. 7726 to do so, and the Senate has already approved such a capital increase in the United States Innovation and Competition Act. It is essential that this capital increase be included in the final version of the House COMPETES Act.

Fourth, the administration must work to counter the misguided trend of de-risking from U.S. banks, which has unfairly cut Caribbean nations off from access to capital and credit and economically harmed the region.

Madam Speaker, the Caribbean is inextricably linked to the security, economic prosperity, and cultural heritage of the United States. It is time for us to recognize this importance and prioritize U.S.-Caribbean relationships.

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