Biden Heads to the Caribbean, Latin America
Biden Heads to the Caribbean, Latin America
There is a sense that if the U.S. doesn’t "step up its game" in Latin America other global powers like China will take advantage, comments AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth.
São Paulo, Brazil – With the sluggish U.S. economic recovery and nagging debt, American taxpayers probably aren’t in the mood to be helping others around the world — even their nearest neighbors.
But as Vice President Joe Biden embarks on a three-nation Latin American tour Sunday, beginning in Colombia, foreign relations observers say the Obama administration will have to come up with more than just talk if the U.S. hopes to recapture some of its shine in a hemisphere that’s increasingly being courted by other global powers.
“It’s going to require specific actions. If nothing happens after that, people will talk about opportunities missed,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society. “There is a sense that if we don’t step up our game in the Western Hemisphere, others will take advantage.”
In the three stops on Biden’s tour — Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil — leaders are expected to raise issues over trade, security, economic growth and energy.
The follow-up for discussions in all three nations are important, said Farnsworth, because Biden’s visit roughly coincides with a Latin American tour by the People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping. Xi is scheduled to pay a three-day state visit to Trinidad and Tobago just days after Biden meets Tuesday with members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in the energy-rich nation....
But Farnsworth warned that Colombians are increasingly concerned about the reduction in U.S. assistance to their country....
