Tennessee Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) re-introduced the Western Hemisphere Nearshoring Act in the 118th Congress on Wednesday.
✍️My nearshoring bill is a threefold WIN.
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— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) February 1, 2023
The bill, if enacted, would overall “reduce the strain of migration on U.S. borders while preventing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence in the Western Hemisphere,” according to a press release by Green’s office.
“China is our chief strategic competitor that seeks to create an international order led by, and for, the ruling elites of the Chinese Communist Party. In response to the economic challenge of China’s manufacturing dominance, one policy that has been gaining traction is nearshoring – relocating supply chains and business operations within a nearby region instead of halfway around the globe,” Green said in a statement.
The legislation would specifically relocate supply chains and business operations to Latin America instead of to China. This, according to Green, would make the United States less dependent on Chinese manufacturing, provide Latin America with economic growth and jobs not at the expense of taxpayers, and decrease migration to the U.S.-Mexico border.
In addition, the legislation would create a low-interest loan program through the International Development Finance Corporation, financed by existing tariffs on Chinese goods to encourage companies to relocate their factories to Latin America.
Green originally introduced the act last year following work alongside House Foreign Affairs Committee Members and immigration attorneys to craft the bipartisan bill in what the Tennessee congressman calls a “threefold win.”
“I’m convinced that Latin America, in friendly partnership with the United States, has untapped potential to become an economic powerhouse by leveraging their comparative advantages in manufacturing,” Green further stated, adding, “Nearshoring could provide the opportunity to bring back supply chains from China, attract foreign investment, and create stable jobs for millions of people.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Image “Rep Mark Green” by Rep. Mark Green.
