GUATEMALA CITY,
Guatemala -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
on Monday applauded the Inter-American Development
Bank's backing of alternative fuels and expressed
support for China's request to join the financial
institution.
Paulson's visit comes on the heels of President
Bush's recent swing through Latin America to
improve relations, promote trade and push for
the region to seize the opportunities of the
booming biofuel industry.
Bank president Luis Alberto Moreno on Monday
announced the financial institution will give
credits to countries that reduce their carbon
emissions and promote the use and production
of renewable energy, such as biofuels.
Paulson said the bank's program supports the
ethanol accord Bush and Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva signed earlier this month.
"This initiative will help countries reduce
their dependence on imported oil, create jobs
and improve economic growth," Paulson told
Latin American finance ministers at the bank's
annual meeting, which ends Tuesday.
U.S. and other foreign investors have expressed
interest in using Guatemala as a base for exporting
ethanol to North America, Guatemalan Finance
Minister Hugo Eduardo Beteta said.
While Brazil is the No. 1 ethanol exporter,
the country's exports to the U.S. are restricted
by a 54-cent-per-gallon U.S. tariff on its sugar-based
ethanol. As a result, many are exploring Central
American and Caribbean countries, which are large
sugarcane producers and enjoy preferential trade
quotas and a certain amount of tariff-free trade
in ethanol with the U.S.
To secure its role in the ethanol boom, Guatemala
has been upgrading its largest port, Santo Tomas
de Castillo, on the Caribbean coast, and carrying
out certification procedures, Beteta said.
A top Brazilian sugar and ethanol group, Unialco,
recently announced it was considering a joint
venture in an ethanol dehydration plant to be
based in Guatemala.
U.S. company Tampa Energy and partners also
are looking to invest roughly $50 million in
an ethanol dehydration plant to be based in the
Dominican Republic, slated to begin operating
in 2009.
On China's bid to join the development bank,
Paulson said, "China obviously is a big
player, a global economic player, and that's
obviously a good thing for Latin America."
The U.S. has been keeping a close eye on China's
moves into the region over concerns the country
could undercut U.S. commercial links. China's
trade with Latin America has boomed over the
past decade to more than $40 billion, although
this is still only a tenth the size of U.S. trade
with the region.
China is interested in Latin America as a reliable
source of raw materials and investment possibilities.
The development bank has agreed to formal talks
with Beijing over its request to become a member.
If approved, China would become the third Asian
country to join the 47-member bank, after Japan
and South Korea. The bank provided $6 billion
in loans last year to Latin American countries. |
