Sunshine Sentinel

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and fellow legislators recently issued a bipartisan statement through the Select Committee on the CCP to present the "Inter-American Development Bank Transparency Act." According to a press release on July 25, the bill is designed to curb the Chinese Communist Party's attempts to influence and coerce Latin America, with an emphasis on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

"The U.S. is the IDB’s largest shareholder," said Rubio. "Yet, China’s genocidal regime continues to enhance and grow its leverage throughout our region, thanks to its debt trap diplomacy and Belt and Road Initiative. We must have a comprehensive action plan to reduce Beijing’s coercive and anti-democratic influence at the IDB."

The IDB is based out of Washington DC and is the largest and foremost international financial institution serving Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2022, it allocated $23 billion toward financing sustainable economic and institutional development in the region, according to a press release.

The CCP owns only 0.1% of shares in the IDB, but it is a significant concern due to the ways the CCP leverages it. This includes pressuring other countries to comply with their demands, according to the released statement. 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, 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.”

This bill involves the U.S. using votes and its influence at the IDB in an attempt to stop the CCP's influence. The Treasury also needs to file a report about several aspects including: If the CCP has co-opted the IDB; the scale of influence of a Chinese company's involvement in IDB and its contracts; a list of IDB projects around U.S. military bases and information about the CCP technology being used in IDB projects.

"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."

The act 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), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Rubio (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) are also cosponsors of the legislation.