The 118th Congress is engaged in a range of legislative and oversight activities related to trade policy toward the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, which is among the United States’ most important regional trading partners. Historically, some Members of Congress have approached initiatives to strengthen economic relations with LAC partners as complementary to broader U.S. policy goals in the region, such as addressing political and economic instability, insecurity, and migration.
Since NAFTA entered into force in 1994, U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in LAC and LAC FDI in the United States have both increased almost ninefold (not adjusting for inflation). The region, which includes some of the world’s leading tax havens, currently accounts for 16% of total U.S. FDI abroad.