With the global challenges currently on the front pages – Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine; the conflict between Israel and Hamas; tensions between Iran and Israel; the deterioration of relations between the United States and China; the worsening of the climate crisis; and historical human displacements―, the Americas are often overlooked, as if they were a separate peripheral world; At most, they attract attention as the scene of competition between great powers.
But they are much more than that. They constitute a region that the United States must accept as an indispensable part of the world, essential to guarantee economic competitiveness; overcome the energy transition and the climate crisis; and achieve food security and orderly human mobility.
The economic dynamism of the United States would not be possible without its North American neighbors. Mexico is the main trading partner of the United States and Canada is the third; Critical sectors such as automotive, aeronautics and energy depend on partnerships with these countries, as production has become essentially North American. Creating additional, resilient and vital supply chains for semiconductors and medical supplies – to name just two – is impossible without them.
North America’s role is embedded not only in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will be reviewed in 2026, but also in US industrial policy. Fulfill the promise of nearshoring [la relocalización de operaciones a un país cercano]will require expanding North American incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Chips and Science Act, as well as further increasing multilateral and bilateral development financing for partners in the FTA [TLC] ―and others― in the Americas.
The Americas are home to more than 53% of the world’s lithium and approximately 40% of its copper, both essential for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage. The IRA tax incentives cover some NAFTA partners such as Mexico, Canada and Chile, but leave essential reserves in Argentina and Brazil exposed to unchallenged exploitation by China. The US Development Finance Corporation has made an initial investment in Brazil’s lithium sector, but to secure US interests, it is necessary to increase investments and reach vital mineral agreements with Argentina and Brazil such as those signed with the EU and Japan.
South America, with an energy matrix based on renewable energy, is a world leader in the production of green hydrogen, another key element of the energy transition. Hosting approximately 30% of the world’s fresh water, 40% of its biodiversity and an immense carbon capture capacity rooted in its forests – mainly, but not exclusively, in the Amazon -, it is also essential to meet climate objectives. of the Paris Agreement. The conversion of these resources into tax benefits, as Ecuador’s historic debt-for-nature swap did, must be expanded and reproduced. This requires ensuring that the region’s multilateral development banks are fully capitalized and in tune with the interests of the United States.
As with the energy transition and the climate crisis, much of the solution to growing food insecurity lies in the Americas. Together, the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere countries account for more than two-thirds of global agricultural and fisheries production. Brazil ranks third in the world after the United States and the European Union. The opportunity to harness agricultural technology to benefit the hungry (and the environment) in the Americas and far beyond is almost limitless.
With more than 20% of the world’s displaced population coming from a region that represents only 8% of the world’s population, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have set an example when it comes to migration management. Faced with the collapse of Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua and the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, communities across the American continent have avoided strict border control measures and refugee camps in favor of integration and inclusion; and its success has been astonishing, since more than 80% of the displaced population of Latin America and the Caribbean has remained in the region.
The 10-year protection status that Colombia provides to Venezuelans, which is unprecedented, and the fact that Mexico has agreed, although unevenly, to become a world leader in receiving asylum applications are two powerful examples to follow, among many others. The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection’s phased approach to mitigating, managing, and ordering migration, agreed to by 22 countries in the Americas, establishes a clear path for the United States and its neighbors to maximize the benefits of migration for all in the Americas and establish a lasting order on the border between the United States and Mexico.
Finally, in a multipolar world in which authoritarianism, populism and illiberal democracy proliferate and in which global freedom has been in decline for 18 consecutive years, living with a region in which 70% of its inhabitants live in democracies free, even if democracy is under strain, is a valuable resource for the United States.
The Americas hold great promise for achieving the basic interests of the United States and the world. To materialize that promise – and overcome the region’s undeniable challenges – it is necessary to place the Americas in their rightful place on the United States’ global agenda, that is, at the center.
Robert Jacobson She was United States Ambassador to Mexico and Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs; Dan Restrepo He was Special Advisor to the President for the Western Hemisphere. Both are founding partners of Dinámica Américas.
#future #United #States #lies #Americas
