Landmark Americas Act Introduced by Salazar, Espaillat, Cassidy, and Bennet

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced their long-awaited Americas Act to create an ever-expanding and permanent trade partnership of Western Hemisphere countries and counter China’s growing control over global manufacturing and geopolitics. Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party also joined the bill as a cosponsor.

This bill unites the democracies in our hemisphere through trade, investment, and a shared commitment to free enterprise. It will create jobs, grow the American economy, and bring prosperity to Latin America and the Caribbean.

To see Salazar's full remarks in Spanish, click here. To see her remarks in English, click here.

“It’s past time we unleash the full economic potential of the United States and Latin America. The Americas Act is THE solution to grow our economy and bring stability to the hemisphere,” said Rep. Salazar. “This bill will create world-class business opportunities and jobs in Miami, help our allies in Latin America, build resiliency for American supply chains, and combat China’s influence.”

As the Gateway to the Americas, Miami is at the center of international trade between the United States and Latin America. Over 70% of Florida’s exports go to Latin America. Hundreds of thousands of Congresswoman Salazar’s constituents have Latin American heritage and understand the importance of keeping our hemisphere out of the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

This bill will greatly expand economic opportunity for Miami by unleashing the potential of trade with our allies. Strong trading relationships marked by a shared respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law will ensure Miami remains a beacon of American liberty and prosperity.

“We need to re-level the playing field between freedom-loving democracies and those who exploit the rules like China. We do that by refocusing on the Western Hemisphere to improve trade, bring manufacturing back to our shores, and end China’s growing influence,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Our Americas Act will make economies across the hemisphere more resilient, governments more stable, and our hemisphere more prosperous.”

“No region has greater ties to the United States than the Western Hemisphere. Yet in recent years we have failed to offer the region a compelling economic alternative to China’s growing influence. This bill changes that. It creates an opportunity for the United States to renew our partnerships across Latin America and the Caribbean, strengthen the rule of law, deepen economic prosperity, and embrace our values in a shared struggle for democracy,” said Sen. Bennet.

“At its core, the Americas Act is a multi-billion-dollar job creation tool for the U.S. and its allies in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Rep. Espaillat. “With its reshoring and nearshoring loans, tax benefits, and other targeted grant assistance for workers at home and in our Western Hemisphere partner countries, the Americas Act will bring jobs and investment back to our Hemisphere and stem the root causes of migration by putting more money into the pockets of working families. Importantly, by creating grant programs for both textiles and medical devices and equipment, this bill directly bolsters the two of the largest and most important export industries for the U.S.’s current Western Hemisphere trade partners, including the Dominican Republic. All in all, the Americas Act represents the most transformative piece of legislation to benefit the Western Hemisphere in two decades.”

“If our reliance on Chinese manufacturing and our lack of sufficient domestic and ally production are not properly addressed, our supply chain will remain at risk of manipulation by the CCP, putting Americans in danger,” said Chairman Gallagher. “We must encourage key industries to start diversifying their supply chains. Because if we find ourselves in a confrontation with China over Taiwan, American consumers are going to absorb a lot of pain—all the more reason we need to be smart about this on the front end.”

For a summary of the Americas Act, click here. Read the section-by-section here. For the full text of the bill, click here.

BACKGROUND:

More than 60 million Americans are of Hispanic descent, helping to make the U.S. the fourth-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Together, the hemisphere grows enough food and has enough critical minerals to sustain every country in the Americas.

Last year, Cassidy and Salazar released a discussion draft of the Americas Act. The final version released today is the most important trade and investment bill in modern history and will redefine America’s leadership in the Western Hemisphere.

Salazar is the Chairwoman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is a leader in Congress on foreign policy in Latin America. She continues to help advance U.S. priorities in the region. Salazar represents Florida’s 27th congressional district.

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