The Epoch Times reported that one of the last steps of Trump’s administration was used to fight against China’s “growing influence in Latin America.” The report states that “the United States struck a deal with Ecuador to refinance its China debt.”
Six days before Trump was set to leave office, “The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a framework agreement with the government of Ecuador.” The agreement refinanced Ecuador’s “preexisting debt to China and support the country’s development projects in the future.”
The DFC was formed in 2019 as a Trump administration initiative to form a federal government agency dedicated to the advancement of U.S. foreign policy interests and finance infrastructure projects in developing countries to compete with China. Ecuador agreed to join the Trump administration effort of the “Clean Network” that “removes Chinese companies from its telecommunications infrastructure.”
Epoch Times reports that “last year, the State Department launched a campaign called Clean Network to boot Huawei and other Chinese telcos from fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks around the world. So far, about 60 countries, representing more than two-thirds of the world’s economy, and 200 telecom companies have joined the alliance.”
President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador said that “the agreement is for the delivery of up to $3.5 billion to prepay expensive debt and reactivate the productive sector.”
TRENDING: Trump Makes Good on Threat, Releases Crossfire Hurricane Motherload
Head of DFC Adam Boehler said that the “framework agreement allows DFC to streamline support for projects that refinance predatory Chinese debt and help Ecuador improve the value of its strategic assets.” He continued by saying, “We are proud to collaborate with Ecuador to advance this critical and strategic project with an important ally of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.”
The move to protect Latin America from “predatory Chinese debt” comes “after the 2008 global financial crisis, China approached many Latin American governments with offers to build and finance infrastructure projects in exchange for breaking with the United States,” reports the Epoch Times. Now, these countries “saddled with high-interest Chinese loans” can look to the United States as a way out of this trap.
The hope is that Biden’s administration wants to continue slowing Chinese influence in Latin America. The Epoch Times reports that the agreement between the DFC, Ecuador, and other private financial institutions will “help create a special purchase vehicle that will acquire oil and infrastructure assets from the Ecuadorian government. With the proceeds, the government will pay off the debt to China earlier than previously agreed.”
This agreement is another reminder of why President Trump was the greatest president America has seen. He put forward an ‘America First’ agenda that is being quickly erased.