Administration offers “social contract” not trade agreements.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris went to Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas this week to pitch leaders from across the Western Hemisphere on what the White House calls a “new and ambitious economic agenda.”
Promoting it as the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, the president said it aims to mobilize new investments in the region, fortify supply chains, promote decarbonization and biodiversity, facilitate inclusive trade, and upgrade the “social contract” between governments and their people.
A White House official said, “The overall objective is to build our economies from the bottom up and the middle out by building on the foundation established by our free trade agreements with the region to better address the inequality and lack of economic opportunity and equity.”
The partnership is one of several initiatives the administration will put forth over the three-day summit as it looks to salvage a gathering that has been mired in rifts over which world leaders would receive an invitation and a sense that the administration is prioritizing domestic issues like immigration over meaningful economic engagement. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday he would skip the gathering after Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua were excluded.
The administration will announce $300 million in funding to address food insecurity in the region and pledge to increase U.S. involvement in a bank that funds development projects.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president and vice president to seek God’s wisdom as they lead events and programs.
- For U.S. officials as they offer concepts, plans, and solutions for Latin American countries.
- For God’s will to be accomplished through the summit.
Sources: Reuters, Politico, CNN
