Other countries, consisting of China and Venezuela, are particularly proficient at these sorts of diplomatic initiatives. The goodwill they have actually engendered in the region through such activities should be a wake-up call for Washington that the Caribbean Basin can not be considered approved. In the existing environment the United States should contend for the Caribbean as undoubtedly we have to contend for all of Latin America, and I believe that additional U.S. efforts in the Caribbean would be rewarded. So Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, thank you once again for the chance to join you. It is an advantage to do so, and I look forward to the concerns you may have.
Farnsworth follows:] [GRAPHIC( S) NOT OFFERED IN TIFF FORMAT] ---------- Mr. Duncan. Thank you, Eric. Next witness extremely wesley hilton well understood to the committee as well, Sally Yearwood, you are acknowledged for 5 minutes. DECLARATION OF MS. SALLY YEARWOOD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CARIBBEAN- CENTRAL AMERICAN ACTION Ms. Yearwood. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Sires. Thank you for holding this timely hearing on the U.S.- Caribbean collaboration. Coming as it does in the wake of your house passage of H.R. 4939, we have a crucial opportunity to evaluate and recalibrate the relationship. The Caribbean is the United States' third border. U.S. security interests in regional stability are inherently linked and so, by extension, partnership on vital financial, political, and social development concerns must be a foreign policy priority.
Russia, China, Canada, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the European Union all have a significant existence. The Islamic Advancement Bank has developed significant ties with financing in some Caribbean nations, and other nations ranging from Qatar to Japan and Brazil have actually had a significant effect on how and where the countries of the Caribbean have relied on search for trade and financing alternatives (What does etf stand for in finance). The United States stays the region's main trading partner, but there is no doubt that when it comes to overall engagement other nations are filling, and sometimes making use of, a vacuum. What can be done to build this more powerful collaboration? I will talk to the locations of economic cooperation that our company believe might have an effect.
The 1983 Caribbean Basin Economic Healing Act stays among the most generous nonreciprocal trade costs ever granted by the U.S. The Caribbean Basin remains a leading ten trading partner with a balance of trade surplus in favor of the U.S. It is likewise worth noting that the Caribbean is the only area of the world where U.S. ship operators and U.S. nationals stay substantial players in the worldwide carriage of goods by sea. When CBERA was passed, regional economies were quite oriented around agricultural and manufactured products. Nevertheless, the world has altered. The economies today with some exceptions are mainly controlled by travel and tourism, the financial services sector and other service based industries.
With H.R. 4939, the U.S. Federal government can examine what exists, where there are spaces, and advise possible areas for trade and cooperation which reflect today's reality. Correspondent Banking and De-risking. While the technical concerns behind this are under discussion among your associates in the Financial Services Committee, and recently they sent a letter to the OCC requesting clearness on the application of rules and compliance, this concern has actually been front and center for the nations of the Caribbean for a while. This is a global problem, however it is widely acknowledged that the Caribbean has been disproportionately affected because of the size of the markets and the perception of risk.
Federal government, international banks, associations, and the economic sector to help determine solutions for the Caribbean. The CEO of the FIBA describes the circumstance as follows: We are dealing with monetary addition in establishing countries and de- risking is then obstructing access to fund. This totals up to a de facto embargo on the region in the location of monetary services (How to finance an engagement ring). When international banks sever relationships with local banks, there is a direct influence on economic growth, trade, and remittances. As essential, when the expenses of abiding by policies create a burden on the genuine banks and they shut down, there is a danger that underground or less regulated institutions will take their location.
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While we can all agree that the banking community's ability to combat money laundering and terrorist funding is a shared top priority, what we can refrain from doing is place excessive burdens on any specific party. There exists a chance for all stakeholders to come together to craft a well balanced, risk-based technique in between regulation and addition, where all parties recognize that they have a function in the problem in addition to in the service. Travel and Tourist. Millions of tourists move by air and sea in between the Caribbean and the U.S. every year. Air and sea ports are a critical part of the security apparatus every day.
additional control over its borders and creates a collaborative environment for handling terrorist watch lists in addition to trafficking of weapons, drugs, and other contraband. Pre-clearance facilities in-region are an instrument for building a security collaboration (Trade credit may be used to finance a major part of a firm's working capital when). While the expense does not validate pre-clearance in every Caribbean nation, a tactical take a look at increasing pre-clearance presence through a hub and spoke system would be helpful to shared partnership and security. Diplomatic Existence. Representative Engel has long required the establishment of a diplomatic presence in the nations of the Eastern Caribbean. There are 9 member states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, 6 of which are independent.
If there is no appetite for diplomatic presence in all of the countries of the Eastern Caribbean, I believe that there must at least be more powerful recognition of the force that the OECS represents in the area, and a minimum of one complete Embassy should be developed there. Security and Catastrophe Resilience. CCAA has run a Catastrophe Management Workshop us financial group Series with our partners from Tropical Shipping and other local partners for practically 20 years. This event underscores the importance of public-private partnerships in disaster management. Previously focused quite on natural catastrophes, we now look at broader hazards to the specific nations.
The region is vulnerable to range of natural and other catastrophes and resilience is critical. Any breakdown has trade, economic, and security ramifications for the more comprehensive region john pam and for its partners outside the region. A multi-country method created in partnership with regional partners ought to belong of the engagement. Time does not allow for the complete series of matters to be dealt with. Energy, for one, is a regional top priority and there I would prompt continued U.S. engagement on the sustainable energy front, structure on the Vice President's hallmark Caribbean Energy Security Effort. In addition, Haiti stays a continuous challenge and the current political crisis has implications for the region as a whole.
