FOX 1st: The Monroe Doctrine is back in full swing, both with President-elect Donald Trump’s push to take over the Panama Canal and with Congressman Mark Green’s new bill aimed at encouraging investment in Latin America.
The chairman of the Department of Homeland Security and a Tennessee Republican introduced a pair of bills Friday. One would use tariffs to create a low-interest financing program for companies to relocate from China to Latin America.
Others would use tariffs levied on Chinese goods to provide tax incentives for U.S. companies to offset the costs of moving operations back to the mainland.
The Western Hemisphere Nearshoring Act would introduce a program through the International Development Finance Corporation to buy interest with tariffs.
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Under the American Business Return Act, amounts paid to move inventory, equipment, and supplies used in trade or business from China to the United States will be recognized as a tax deduction. The program will be funded through a trust fund of collected fees.
“Communist China’s negative influence continues to spread across the Western Hemisphere. It’s time for us to rise up. By rebuilding the region’s infrastructure and manufacturing jobs, we can silence China’s siren song.” Green told Fox News Digital.
Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) holds a press conference ahead of a House Homeland Security Committee hearing “investigating Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty” Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Cannonville. . (Tom Williams/CQ-) Roll Call, Inc (via Getty Images)
The United States has invested heavily in Latin America and the Caribbean over the years, and China is South America’s largest trading partner and benefactor. As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, it is focusing on subsidies and loans across the continent. China announced in November that it would build a huge port in Peru.
Lawmakers are beginning to float ideas that would reassert Western Hemisphere hegemony by “landing” supply chains from China and creating trade partnerships across the Americas.
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Vice President Kamala Harris, chosen to lead the border response, has sought to attract investment to Latin America and improve conditions for locals to avoid making the dangerous journey to the U.S. border, citing the “root causes” of migration. focused on.
A cargo ship transits the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, on September 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Delacroix, File)
By calling for the Panama Canal to be returned to the United States, President Trump has signaled that he will once again prioritize the Western Hemisphere, a priority since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.
Over the past few weeks, President Trump has claimed that China controls the canal and that Panama is “looting” it from the United States.
“The Panama Canal is extremely important to our country,” President Trump said. “It’s run by China – China! – and we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, not to China. They misused that gift.”
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China is the second largest user of the canal after the United States and the country’s leading investor. Two of the canal’s ports of entry are owned by subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison. The Chinese government also helped finance the construction of a new bridge over the waterway.
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