Without Argentina, the US launched a plan to boost investment in the region

The United States

a trade initiative to boost investment and growth in the Americas together with eleven countries, among which

, although they could do so in the future.

In a statement, President

said that the Alliance of the Americas for Economic Prosperity was being launched, an initiative that had already been announced without too many details at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles last year.

With this initiative, the United States seeks to

in the region and neutralize investments coming from Asia.

Latin America has been claiming for years that Washington complains about the growing Chinese predominance, but that it does not propose investments that can replace those of the Asian giant.

Joe Biden speaks to the press this Friday.

The launch comes after the CELAC meeting in Buenos Aires, a forum of 33 nations where countries that the United States considers dictatorships such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba are represented.

Biden called this new alliance

and said that it “will unite our hemisphere to drive inclusive, sustainable economic growth” and that it will benefit workers across the region.

He announced that 11 countries had joined the United States in this partnership: Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.

“This group represents about 90 percent of the Western Hemisphere's GDP and nearly two-thirds of its population,” Biden said.

“Working together, we will unlock our full economic potential,” he added.

Representatives of those countries held a public videoconference this Friday with Secretary Antony Blinken and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

They then signed an 8-point Joint Declaration.

Among the objectives of this alliance, Biden said, include "boosting our competitiveness, building more resilient regional supply chains, creating quality jobs, combating climate change, and revitalizing the economic institutions of our hemisphere."

absences

Asked about the absence of Argentina and Brazil, two of the largest regional economies in this alliance, a State Department spokesman told

that “Brazil and Argentina are vital economic actors in the Americas.

We look forward to engaging with the new Government of Brazil and the Government of Argentina on this initiative,” he said.

“We view the Association of the Americas as an open framework, and we look forward to engaging with both countries in their interest,” he added.

The US official pointed out that in the first phase they focused “on developing a solid framework that establishes our level of ambition and can generate tangible benefits for all who join.

After these negotiations we look forward to discussions with partners on how to extend the reach.”

-Are you open to Venezuela or Cuba?

-"Not.

We envision the Association of the Americas to be an open framework, in which we can welcome all countries that share our vision of a more prosperous hemisphere,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, government sources told

that "Argentina participated in the launch (last year) and closely follows the evolution of the initiative, of which more details were presented today."

“The countries that were at today's conference are almost all those that have a Free Trade Agreement with the US, except Uruguay.

Perhaps since they have been proclaiming the will to have a treaty, they will have been invited to join”, they added.

Alberto Fernández and Joe Biden with their wives, in the protocol photo at the Summit of the Americas, in 2022.

On whether Argentina could join in the future, the Argentine sources indicated that “we are in the initiative, we are part, beyond today's specific event.

Surely we will be in the next one, we agree on the objectives.

That some have participated this Friday does not imply a different status from the rest”.

Jorge Mariscal

, professor of Emerging Financial Markets at Columbia University, told

that one of the most important reasons why the US is launching this alliance is "the growing tension between China and the United States, not only commercially but also geopolitically given China's attitude towards Taiwan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Another reason is that, with a view to re-election, Biden

given the debacle in Afghanistan and the migration crisis at its borders.

Regarding the absence of Argentina and Brazil, he said that “unlike Mexico and Central America, the main trading partners of Argentina and Brazil (outside MERCOSUR) are Europe and Asia, not the United States.

Lula has made it clear that what is desirable is to enter into new alliances such as MERCOSUR and not each country individually.

Thus, the priority is to consolidate MERCOSUR and then as a bloc consider new alliances with the United States and other regions”.

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