Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris has announced almost $US1 billion in new pledges by private companies to support communities in Central America, part of the Biden administration’s effort to keep migrants from fleeing towards the US border.
Ten companies, including Nestle, Target and Columbia Sportswear, said they would collectively spend $US950 million ($1.3 million) on projects in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to support farmers, create textile jobs and invest in telecommunications and other industries.
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a roundtable with government leaders and private sector representatives about migration on Monday.Credit:AP
The effort comes as crossings at the US-Mexico border remain at record highs, posing logistical and humanitarian challenges to President Joe Biden and drawing intense criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The vice president’s announcement came as she met with a number of companies on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).
It added to the commitments from businesses through the Partnership for Central America, a non-profit organisation that was created in mid-2021 to facilitate Harris’ efforts to rally support for the region. The partnership had previously announced about $US3 billion in future spending from a range of companies.
Texas National Guard troops block migrants from entering a high-traffic border crossing area along Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas.Credit:Getty
The idea, according to the vice president’s aides, is to address what she calls the root causes of migration: poverty, corruption, climate change and political instability that drives people to leave their homes in search of a better life.
Administration officials said the program had already generated results, though they acknowledged on a call with reporters that they could not specifically document those effects. Since mid-2021, officials said, migration from the three countries was down 71 per cent.
“As part of this public-private partnership, approximately 47 companies and organisations are collaborating across financial services, textiles and apparel, agriculture, technology, telecommunications and non-profit sectors to strengthen the region’s economic security,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet.
But even those participating in the effort say there are challenges to its success.
Ajay Banga, former executive chair of Mastercard and one of the business executives who worked with Harris on the effort to raise money for Central America, said it was unlikely to make a difference in the next few months or even years.
“If anyone speaking to you is declaring victory, they’re crazy,” Banga said. “There’s work. There’s real work there. That $US3 billion is interesting, but it is not implemented yet.”
Banga and others said they had been impressed with Harris’ preparation and well-informed questions behind the scenes. But he said the administration’s focus on oversight when investing the funds and deterring illegal migration was critical to its success.
“Then this can make a difference over five or 10 years,” Banga said.
There are other challenges, too. People who have worked with the administration for the past year and a half said that private investment was not enough as the United States competes with other countries, especially China, for investment in the region.
Executives with some of the companies who pledged to spend millions of dollars over the course of the next five years or so said they would also need regulatory changes and adjustments to tariffs if they wanted to be successful in the long run.
They will also need infrastructure to support their investments – roads, internet and power – and a total scale of spending by other similar companies. Both are things that China has embraced as it spreads investments through Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In response, the administration said Harris would announce a program aimed at increasing investment in infrastructure in the region.
The program would aim to help companies gain access to funding from the US International Development Finance Corp and create a Northern Central America Investment Facilitation Team intended to promote economic development.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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