Other countries, including China and Venezuela, are especially excellent at these sorts of diplomatic efforts. The goodwill they have engendered in the region through such activities should be a wake-up call for Washington that the Caribbean Basin can not be taken for approved. In the existing environment the United States need to compete for the Caribbean as certainly we need to compete for all of Latin America, and I think that extra U.S. efforts in the Caribbean would be rewarded. So Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, thank you again for the chance to join you. It is a benefit to do so, and I anticipate the questions you might have.
Farnsworth follows:] [GRAPHIC( S) NOT OFFERED IN TIFF FORMAT] ---------- Mr. Duncan. Thank you, Eric. Next witness extremely well understood to the committee also, 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 performs in the wake of your house passage of H.R. 4939, we have an essential opportunity to evaluate and recalibrate the relationship. The Caribbean is the United States' 3rd border. U.S. security interests in regional stability are intrinsically linked and so, by extension, collaboration on important financial, political, and social development issues must be a foreign policy concern.
Russia, China, Canada, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the European Union all have a substantial existence. The Islamic Development Bank has developed substantial ties with financing in some Caribbean countries, and other nations varying from Qatar to Japan and Brazil have actually had a considerable effect on how and where the countries of the Caribbean have turned to browse for trade and funding alternatives (How to finance a house flip). The United States stays the region's primary trading partner, but there is no doubt that when it comes to general engagement other nations are filling, and in some cases making use of, a vacuum. What can be done to build this more powerful partnership? 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 given by the U.S. The Get more information Caribbean Basin remains a leading 10 trading partner with a balance of trade surplus in favor of the U.S. It is also worth keeping in mind that the Caribbean is the only area of the world where U.S. ship operators and U.S. nationals stay considerable players in the international carriage of goods by sea. When CBERA was passed, local economies were quite oriented around farming and manufactured items. Nevertheless, the world has actually altered. The economies today with some exceptions are largely controlled by travel and tourist, the financial services sector and other service based markets.
With H.R. 4939, the U.S. Federal government can analyze what exists, where there what happens if you stop paying maintenance fees on a timeshare are spaces, and advise possible areas for trade and cooperation which reflect today's reality. Correspondent Banking and De-risking. While the technical problems behind this are under conversation among your coworkers in the Financial Solutions Committee, and recently they sent a letter to the OCC requesting clarity on the application of guidelines and compliance, this issue has actually been front and center for the nations of the Caribbean for a while. This is a worldwide problem, however it is extensively acknowledged that the Caribbean has been disproportionately affected due to the fact that of the size of the markets and the understanding of danger.
Federal government, global financial institutions, associations, and the economic sector to help identify options for the Caribbean. The CEO of the FIBA explains the scenario as follows: We are dealing with monetary addition in developing countries and de- risking is then obstructing access to fund. This totals up to a de facto embargo on the region in the area of financial services (What happened to yahoo finance portfolios). When international banks sever relationships with regional banks, there is a direct impact on financial development, trade, and remittances. As crucial, when the costs of adhering to regulations create a burden on the legitimate banks and they shut down, there is a risk that underground or less regulated organizations will take their location.
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While we can all concur that the banking community's ability to fight cash laundering and terrorist funding is a shared top priority, what we can not do is location excessive problems on any individual celebration. There exists a chance for all stakeholders to come together to craft a well balanced, risk-based method in between guideline and inclusion, where all parties recognize that they have a function in the issue as well as in the option. 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 device every day.
extra control over its borders and develops a collective environment for managing terrorist watch lists in addition to trafficking of guns, drugs, and other contraband. Pre-clearance facilities in-region are an instrument for building a security partnership (What is a note in finance). While the cost does not justify pre-clearance in every Caribbean nation, a strategic appearance at increasing pre-clearance presence through a hub and spoke system would be beneficial to shared partnership and security. Diplomatic Existence. Representative Engel has long called for the facility of a diplomatic existence in the nations of the Eastern Caribbean. There are nine member states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, six of which are independent.
If there is no hunger Helpful resources for diplomatic existence in all of the countries of the Eastern Caribbean, I think that there should a minimum of be stronger recognition of the force that the OECS represents in the region, and a minimum of one complete Embassy must be established there. Security and Disaster Durability. CCAA has run a Disaster Management Workshop Series with our partners from Tropical Shipping and other local partners for almost two decades. This event underscores the significance of public-private collaborations in catastrophe management. Previously focused really much on natural disasters, we now take a look at broader hazards to the particular countries.
The region is vulnerable to series of natural and other catastrophes and resilience is critical. Any breakdown has trade, economic, and security ramifications for the more comprehensive area and for its partners outside the area. A multi-country technique forged in partnership with regional partners need to belong of the engagement. Time does not enable for the full variety of matters to be attended to. Energy, for one, is a local top priority and there I would advise continued U.S. engagement on the sustainable energy front, building on the Vice President's trademark Caribbean Energy Security Initiative. Moreover, Haiti remains an ongoing challenge and the current political crisis has ramifications for the region as a whole.