Bipartisan Bill Offers Funding, Duty-Free Status for Production That Moves From China to Latin America
Two Republicans and a Democrat introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would make all goods produced in either Latin America or the Caribbean duty free for 15 years, if that company was selected for a government-backed low-interest loan to move production from China to the new country. The bill, called the Western Hemisphere Nearshoring Act, was introduced April 26 by Reps. Mark Green, R-Tenn., Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-W.Va., and Albio Sires, D-N.J.
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The bill also requires the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to offer 10% of its funding for low-interest loans to companies that wish to move production from China to a Latin American or Caribbean country. In the DFC's first year, in 2020, that would have been $467 million. The DFC does support jobs, but more often, its projects, which cover the entire world, support basic needs, such as electricity, clean water, housing or food security.
The bill does say the duty-free status can be "subject to such terms and conditions as the President determines to be appropriate."