Volunteer State News

Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) was joined by fellow lawmakers to issue a bipartisan statement to present the "Inter-American Development Bank Transparency Act", which has a focus on curbing the Chinese Communist Party's influence and coercive activities in Latin America. According to a July 25 release by the Select Committee on the CCP, this has a particular emphasis on the Inter-American Development Bank.

"The economic security of the Western Hemisphere is inextricably linked to the economic security of the United States, and it is vital that the United States work to counter the CCP’s efforts to gain a strategic foothold through investments in critical resources and infrastructure," said Senator Hagerty in the statement. "The U.S. is the IDB’s largest shareholder, but the PRC has leveraged the IDB to enhance its growing, nefarious influence in Latin America. I’m pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will help put an end to the CCP’s attempts to use the IDB to advance its goals in Latin America.

The IDB, which is based in Washington D.C., is the largest international financial institution serving Latin America and the Caribbean. Last year the IDB  allocated $23 billion for financing sustainable economic and institutional development in the region, according to the press release.

The CCP only owns 0.1% of shares in the IDB, however, it is still a significant concern due to the ways the CCP leverages it. Examples include pressuring other countries to comply with their demands. This includes pressuring Paraguay to split from Taiwan in exchange for vaccines.

The proposed bill seeks to address this issue by aiming to put an end to CCP coercion and mandating Treasury reporting on several aspects, such as "whether the CCP exploits the IDB to extend its influence", "the involvement of CCP technology subject to US export controls in IDB projects", and "the extent of Chinese company influence and participation in IDB contracts", and more, according to a press release.

“The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly utilizing the Inter-American Development Bank to expand its reach, influence, and economic leverage over Latin American countries,” said California Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), according to a press release. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that would ensure the United States understands the full scope and scale of the CCP’s influence on the IDB and develop an action plan to counter potential malign actions.”

House GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) also weighed in, saying that the CCP has worked "for too long" to use the IDB to negatively affect partnerships.

"For too long, the United States has permitted Communist China to undermine our partnerships in the Western hemisphere through the Inter-American Development Bank," said New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, according to a press release. "The critical bipartisan legislation we are introducing today will ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are no longer funneled to CCP-controlled companies that undermine America’s interests and export the CCP’s oppressive surveillance capabilities in our own hemisphere. We cannot allow Communist China to exploit our institutions for their own malign interests."

One of the stipulations in the bill is to have the U.S. Treasury file a report on aspects such as if the CCP has used the IDB to spread influence; scale of the influence of Chinese companies with the IDB and projects involving it; listing IDB projects around U.S. military bases; and reporting on technology used by CCP with IDB projects specific to U.S. exports.

This bill was introduced by Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, as well as Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). 

Rep. Stefanik and Reps. Panetta, Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Michael Waltz (R-FL), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) are cosponsors of the bill.