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1 1 (February 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govebhb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 Updated February 27, 2020 Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Overview U.S. interests in Latin America and the Caribbean are diverse and include economic, political, security, and humanitarian concerns. Geographic proximity has ensured strong economic linkages between the United States and the region, with the United States being a major trading partner and source of foreign investment for many Latin American and Caribbean countries. Free trade agreements (FTAs) have augmented U.S. economic relations with 11 countries in the region. The Western Hemisphere is a large source of U.S. immigration, both legal and illegal; geographic proximity and economic and security conditions are major factors driving migration trends. Curbing the flow of illicit drugs from Latin America and the Caribbean has been a key component of U.S. relations with the region and a major interest of Congress for more than four decades. The flow of illicit drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl from Mexico and cocaine from Colombia, poses risks to U.S. public health and safety. Since 2000, Colombia has received support through Plan Colombia and its successor programs. For over a decade, the United States also has sought to forge close partnerships with other countries to combat drug trafficking and related violence and advance citizen security. These include the Merida Initiative, begun in 2007 to support Mexico; the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), begun in 2008; and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), begun in 2009. Another long-standing component of U.S. policy has been support for democratic governance and the rule of law. U.S. policy efforts have long supported democracy promotion, including support for strengthening civil society and promoting human rights and the rule of law. Increasing Challenges in the Region Over the past several years, the quality of democracy has eroded in a number of countries, along with public satisfaction with how democracy is working. Venezuela has descended into a dictatorship under President Nicolas Maduro, and Cuba and Nicaragua are also ruled by authoritarian regimes repressing the political opposition. Other countries have experienced social unrest fueled by such political factors as fraudulent elections, weak democratic institutions, politicized judicial systems, public corruption scandals, high levels of crime and violence, and the effect of organized crime on state institutions. Economic factors such as declining or stagnant growth rates, high levels of income inequality, and increased poverty have also increased social pressure. Protests that racked a number of countries in 2019 could reemerge in 2020, given that many of the underlying conditions that fueled unrest in the region persists. https://crsrepo Trump Administration Policy Under the Trump Administration, U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean have moved toward a more confrontational approach from one of engagement and partnership during past Administrations. In 2018, the State Department set forth a framework for U.S. policy toward the region focused on three pillars for engagement- economic growth and prosperity, security, and democratic governance. The framework reflects continuity with long- standing U.S. policy priorities for the region, but it also appears at odds with the Administration's sometimes antagonistic actions and statements on immigration, trade, and foreign aid. Meanwhile, according to Gallup and Pew Research Center polls, negative views of U.S. leadership in the region have increased markedly during the Trump Administration. Foreign Aid. The Administration's proposed foreign aid budgets for the region would have cut assistance levels by more than a third in FY2018 and FY2019 and by 30% in FY2020. Congress essentially rejected those requests by providing significantly more assistance in appropriations measures, but in 2019, the Trump Administration withheld some assistance to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) to compel their governments to curb the flow of migrants to the United States. The FY2021 request of $1.4 billion would cut aid to the region by 18%, but a large proposed aid increase to support a potential democratic transition in Venezuela masks significantly larger cuts for many countries and programs. Trade. In 2017, President Trump ordered U.S. withdrawal from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) FTA negotiated in 2015 by 12 Asia-Pacific countries; the TPP would have increased U.S. economic linkages with three Latin American countries that were parties to the agreement-Chile, Mexico, and Peru. The President strongly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada, repeatedly warned that the United States might withdraw from the agreement, and initiated renegotiations in 2017. The three countries agreed in 2018 to a new United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA), which retained many of NAFTA's provisions and included modernizing features and new provisions on the auto and dairy industries. Mexico, Central America, and Immigration. Relations with Mexico have been tested because of inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric and immigration actions that have shifted the burden of interdicting migrants and offering asylum to Mexico. In 2017, the Administration announced it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program; begun in 2012, the program provides relief from deportation for certain immigrants who arrived as children. The program's future remains uncertain, given challenges rts.conqross.ov

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