MODERATOR: Good morning, and thank you for joining us for this on-the-record briefing with Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Brian Nichols and Ambassador Lisa Kubiske, who will be - who will both be previewing Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity ministerial on July 17th. As a reminder, this call is embargoed until the conclusion of the call.
Assistant Secretary Nichols, I'll turn it over to you for your opening remarks.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY NICHOLS: Good morning, and thank you for joining us today to preview the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity foreign affairs ministerial that will take place on Wednesday, July 17th. I especially want to thank and recognize my friend and colleague, Ambassador Lisa Kubiske, for joining to provide details on our goals for the Americas Partnership.
Secretary Blinken will host the ministerial, and we expect foreign ministers from the other 11 Americas Partnership countries to attend.
Let me start by observing that our deep economic bonds with Latin America and the Caribbean grow stronger by the day. The United States ranks as Latin America's largest trading partner and its largest source of foreign direct investment. In 2023, U.S. trade with Latin America and the Caribbean totaled over $1.1 trillion, and Mexico overtook China as our top trading partner. Note that Canada is our second-largest trading partner.
Nevertheless, poverty rates are rising in Latin America, productivity has lagged, and income inequality remains a serious problem. The pandemic demonstrated to us and to our regional partners the importance of developing more diversified and reliable supply chains closer to home.
To tackle challenges like rising poverty and decreasing productivity, the United States is investing in deeper regional partnerships to advance inclusive economic growth. For more than two decades, we built free trade agreements that serve as the foundation of our economic policy in the region. The agreements reduce tariff and trade barriers, and created new opportunities across industries.
But trade-enabled growth has not always resulted in inclusive growth, and it hasn't always reached everyone. Far too frequently the most vulnerable sectors have not enjoyed the benefits stemming from export-led growth. We need to do our part to advance inclusive growth and create good, family-supporting jobs, both in our own country and around the Americas. Delivering on this goal requires us to go beyond a traditional free trade agenda to advance an affirmative economic agenda for the region.
It is with this in mind that the President launched the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity at the ninth Summit of the Americas in June 2022, and then hosted a leaders summit last November. The 12 founding partners make up over 90 percent of the Western Hemisphere's GDP, and nearly two thirds of its population. We designed the Americas Partnership to achieve concrete results for the middle class, workers, and historically marginalized groups. It aims to deepen economic integration, create good paying jobs, and make the Americas the most - the world's most economically competitive region.
Through this partnership, we will work together to build resilient supply chains, reinvigorate our region's economic institutions, and invest in our workers, our infrastructure, and our strategic industries - whether through semiconductors or clean energy, or medical supplies or the critical minerals needed for our modern economy.
Enthusiasm for the Americas Partnership in the region is palpable, and the Inter-American Development Bank's concrete support will increase our reach and impact. For example, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank already launched a new investment platform that identified $3 billion in potential infrastructure projects across our hemisphere. We also have other economic tools to engage the region in ways that help the United States and our partners, and I will let Ambassador Kubiske touch on those shortly.
This week's ministerial is an outstanding opportunity for ministers to review the significant progress we've made since last year's leaders meeting in implementing their vision for this endeavor, and chart a course through next year's leaders meeting in Costa Rica. Among other things, we expect ministers to establish a new process for additional countries to request to join the Americas Partnership. The very strong interest we've seen from several countries is a clear sign that this initiative addresses the principal challenges that we're facing.
Thanks very much, and over to you, Ambassador Kubiske.
AMBASSADOR KUBISKE: Good morning. Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary Nichols. I want to emphasize some points that the assistant secretary just made about our deep economic bonds, and the leaders having stated their intention to significantly strengthen our economic partnership through an enduring high-level forum for deepening economic collaboration and integration that can deal with - take on the major global challenges of our time. So Assistant Secretary Nichols mentioned some of them, but for everything from supply chains to dealing with the climate crisis, to promoting greater social and economic opportunity. So the idea is to use the forum - because this is what our leaders have said - to deliver tangible benefits that help people not just survive and compete, but also thrive and flourish.
So at the summit, the leaders directed their ministers to develop three tracks - trade, finance, and foreign affairs - to carry out different workstreams to deepen this kind of regional cooperation among these 12 countries. And they agreed on annual ministers meetings in each track and a leaders meeting every two years. And the leaders meeting will be next year and is - as Assistant Secretary Nichols said, Costa Rica will host it.
So this year in 2024, all the tracks are holding ministerials. There was a finance ministerial in April, and USTR is - the U.S. representative will participate in a trade ministerial later this summer in Quito. And then we come to Secretary Blinken, who leads the foreign affairs track. So on Wednesday, July 17th, the Secretary is hosting the foreign ministers from the 11 partner countries to review the progress that we've made on delivering the commitments and the vision that was laid out by our leaders in November. They - we want to make sure that we can unlock the region's potential - the region's potential being great - to make sure that our people have the tools and the skills that they need to flourish in the 21st century economies.
So we're trying to close gaps in our free trade agreements and address structural issues that thwart broad-based economic growth. So that affects - or we look at workforce readiness and competitiveness and transparency and sustainability, for example. And overall in the three tracks, we've taken on some of the systemic challenges through concrete initiatives on supply chain diversification, infrastructure, finance, workforce development, digital development, and entrepreneurship, among others. And we're doing it - and this is something special about the Americas Partnership - we're doing it in partnership with institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
So in our track alone, the foreign affairs track, we're engaged on clean hydrogen, entrepreneurship, rule of law and transparency, smart agriculture, peaceful uses of space - thinking of environmental and societal applications - digital workforce training - including in semiconductors - climate finance; and we're working with the various partners and coordinating the different workstreams.
So let me walk you - let me say one more thing about this. This - we view this as a long-term project and - so we've made progress, and we hope to make much more progress moving forward.
So let me give you a sense of the schedule. On the 17th, beginning at about 10:30 until about noon, Secretary Blinken will host ministers from the 11 partner countries for a plenary discussion. The Secretary's remarks will be live-streamed and open to the press. And the Secretary will highlight and commend partners for some of the progress made in few key areas, like entrepreneurship or supply chain diversification and resilience, clean hydrogen, digital economy - the ones I've mentioned.
The discussion itself will center on how we can continue to work together to make the Americas Partnership an enduring forum that can strengthen our hemispheric economic integration and competitiveness. And on competitiveness, I should point out the goal is to make our region competitive globally, not just amongst ourselves.
After a short break, at about 12:15, the Secretary will host a working lunch with the ministers. We've invited the president of the Inter-American Development Bank and the deputy CEO of the Development Finance Corporation to join the lunch, and that will be a discussion focused on financing solutions that can enhance supply chain competitiveness, integration, resiliency, while addressing the fundamental social, economic, and environmental challenges to regional competitiveness. Under Secretary Fernandez will moderate the discussion during lunch.
There are two side events, one hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another hosted by the Council of the Americas. These will take place in the mid-afternoon and early evening. It reflects our commitment to sustained stakeholder engagement with the private sector and with civil society. There will be several important announcements throughout the course of the day, but I can't discuss the announcements now, of course. But we encourage you to watch the developments during the day, and we'll have materials later.
So let me close saying that our - hang on, I need that - our approach is anchored in partnership. This is really by and for APEP, by the Americas Partnership. The - we - in our work streams we have different countries leading the different tracks, and that part is working. Over my 30-year career in the hemisphere and beyond, I've become convinced, as the President and the Secretary are, that the U.S. is much more effective when we work in a spirit of genuine partnership and mutual respect.
I do have one final announcement. There's a press center - Foreign Press Center briefing with Under Secretary Fernandez at 2:00 on the 17th.
Okay. And that - with that, I'm sure we can take questions.
MODERATOR: Wonderful. If you have a question, please use the raise your hand function and we will call on you. Again, if you have a question, please use the raise your hand function. Great. Our first question is going to be from Tracy Wilkinson with the LA Times. GPA Press, can you unmute her?
Please, apologies, guys. We are having some tech issues. We're —
QUESTION: Can you hear me now?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY NICHOLS: Yes, thank you.
QUESTION: Sorry. I hit the unmute and then it didn't unmute. Anyway, I realize this question probably is a little historical. It goes back to when this group was formed, what, a - now two years ago, I guess. Right? Why these 11 countries? What do they represent in terms of percentage of workforce, percentage of GDP? It's not all the democracies. I'm just wondering why these countries. Thanks.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY NICHOLS: Tracy, good to hear from you, and I'd note that in terms of the founding partners, we tried to gather a cross-section of likeminded countries that have strong economic and trade ties to the United States and share a vision for broadening that economic relationship. This was never meant to be an exclusive club, but rather a founding of a partnership that would expand over time. And that's what we're looking to do on this process going forward.
And I'd just note that the 12 founding countries - Barbados, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay - really have harmonious economic relationships with each other, not just bilaterally with the United States. And they share a vision for streamlining our relationships and addressing the non-tariff issues that can promote growth in our region. But I'm sure Ambassador Kubiske has some thoughts as well.
AMBASSADOR KUBISKE: I think you stated it very well, Assistant Secretary. The - the countries have shared values and high aspirations for improving, so shared values in democracy, in essentially open markets, in environmental and social standards and good governance. And so it's a core nucleus. The idea was to see if we could make some progress amongst ourselves and then be able to expand the group. So we've always committed to open architecture, but there's a balance between getting something done and having the - having more members, and we're in the middle of that process.
MODERATOR: Thank you. As a reminder, if you have a question, please raise your hand or use the raise your hand function. I am not seeing any further questions. Ambassador Kubiske, Assistant Secretary Nichols, I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. And thank you to all the reporters on the line who joined us today. Because this is the conclusion of the call, the embargo is now lifted.
