U.S. announces new Western Hemisphere economic coalition

The Biden administration says 11 countries in the Western Hemisphere have initially signed up into the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, in what officials called a “historic” initiative to drive economic growth and cooperation in the region.

“We view it as a historic new initiative to drive economic growth in the hemisphere, and tackle the core issues that will define the coming decades and galvanize greater economic cooperation in our hemisphere,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday.

The group of countries joining the partnership — Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay — represent about 90% of the Western Hemisphere’s GDP and nearly two-thirds of its population. The United States has free trade agreements with nine of those countries.

The framework was to be unveiled later in the day Friday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Only two Caribbean countries are included, and some heavyweights like Brazil are absent from the list, but the senior official said the framework will be “open to all countries; we’re not picking winners or losers here.”

“The focus is to work with countries that have a set of shared values and a vision for a prosperous hemisphere,” the senior official said.

The Americas Partnership was first announced by President Joe Biden last June during the during the Summit of the America, the regional gathering hosted by the U.S. and the Organization of American States. The initiative is still in its very early stages. No significant agreements, investments or other economic plans were discussed during the call.

A second senior official said the administration has been engaging with these countries to first agree on goals for the partnership that is expected to deliver future “binding and non-binding” commitments.

Areas of potential cooperation include “the digital economy, issues like decarbonization and climate, how we can work together, the integration of supply chains, not just from the U.S. to regional perspective but also helping them further integrate their economies,” one of the officials said.

The official added that the reform of the Inter-American Development Bank to expand beyond its traditional focus on poverty reduction and infrastructure would be “central” to these efforts.