WASHINGTON – In the week since U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and U.S. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar’s (R-FL-27) released discussion draft legislation, the Americas Trade and Investment Act (Americas Act), support has grown. The draft legislation creates an ever-expanding and permanent trade partnership of Western Hemisphere countries to promote prosperity and stability.Here’s what people are saying:
- Politico Morning Trade: “Republicans are trying to reshape their free trade-favoring agenda for the new Chinese challenge. Last week, Finance Committee member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced a discussion draft along with Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) that would incentivize companies to move supply chains from China to the U.S. and Latin America, while establishing a path for Central and South American nations to join the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.”
- Andres Oppenheimer in the Miami Herald: “Recent U.S. administrations have pretty much given up on seeking a bold Latin American and Caribbean economic initiative… Now, an ambitious draft bill circulating in the U.S. Senate seeks to come up with a new, more gradual, U.S. hemispheric trade and investment proposal… The draft bill circulated by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, the 202-page “Americas Act,” calls for, among other things, creating a path for willing Latin American democracies to join the Mexico-Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement… it’s good to hear that there are discussions in Congress about expanding U.S.-Latin American trade and investment ties.”
- Inside Trade: “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) published a discussion draft of a bill crafted to create an overarching foreign and economic policy toward countries in the Western Hemisphere, including a Commerce Department program that would shepherd countries into the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The draft legislation also includes provisions aimed at encouraging businesses to reshore or nearshore from China to the U.S. or other Western Hemisphere countries and urging governments to work with the U.S. to contain the advance of China in Latin America.”
- International Trade Today: “The bill covers diplomacy and aid, tariffs and, in a narrow way, immigration… In the few days since the introduction, Cassidy’s staff has heard from the National Association of Manufacturers, which he said was excited about the idea, and is vetting it. He said there have been diplomats, too, who contacted the senator, saying they were glad attention was being paid to the region.”
Click here to read the full discussion draft.
Background
Last week, Cassidy and Salazar released a discussion draft of the Americas Trade and Investment Act (Americas Act). The draft bill counters China’s growing control over global manufacturing and geopolitics by uniting democracies in our hemisphere through fair trade and shared values. Learn more here. |