II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3591 

To strengthen the bilateral partnership between the United States and Ecuador in support of democratic institutions and rule of law, sustainable 

and inclusive economic growth, and conservation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 3), 2022 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To strengthen the bilateral partnership between the United 

States and Ecuador in support of democratic institutions 

and rule of law, sustainable and inclusive economic 

growth, and conservation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘United States-Ecuador Partnership Act of 2022’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 4. Facilitating economic and commercial ties. 

Sec. 5. Promoting inclusive economic development. 

Sec. 6. Combating illicit economies, corruption, and negative foreign influence. 

Sec. 7. Strengthening democratic governance. 

Sec. 8. Fostering conservation and stewardship. 

Sec. 9. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 10. Sunset. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The United States and Ecuador have a his5 tory of bilateral cooperation grounded in mutual re6 spect, shared democratic values, and mutual security 

7 interests. 

8 (2) On February 7, 2021, and April 11, 2021, 

9 Ecuador held democratic elections that included par10 ties from across the political spectrum, paving the 

11 way for continued progress towards strengthening 

12 democratic institutions. 

13 (3) The United States and Ecuador share stra14 tegic interests in strengthening Ecuador’s demo15 cratic institutions, generating inclusive economic 

16 growth, and building capacity in law enforcement, 

17 anti-corruption, and conservation efforts. 

18 (4) The United States and Ecuador historically 

19 have enjoyed strong commercial, investment, and 

20 economic ties, yet Ecuador continues to face signifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Feb 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3591.IS S3591

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1 cant challenges to inclusive economic development, 

2 including— 

3 (A) the heavy economic toll of the COVID– 

4 19 pandemic; 

5 (B) vulnerabilities with respect to the 

6 growing role of the People’s Republic of China 

7 in the financing and refinancing of Ecuador’s 

8 debts, and in strategic infrastructure projects 

9 and sectors of the Ecuadorian economy; and 

10 (C) the need to develop and strengthen 

11 open and transparent economic policies that 

12 strengthen Ecuador’s integration with global 

13 markets, inclusive economic growth, and oppor14 tunities for upward social mobility for the Ec15 uadorian people. 

16 (5) Since its establishment in December 2019, 

17 the United States Development Finance Corporation 

18 has provided more than $440,000,000 in financing 

19 to Ecuador. 

20 (6) Ecuador’s justice system has taken impor21 tant steps to fight corruption and criminality and to 

22 increase accountability. However, enduring chal23 lenges to the rule of law in Ecuador, including the 

24 activities of transnational criminal organizations, il25 licit mining, illegal, unreported, and unregulated 


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1 (IUU) fishing, and undemocratic actors, present on2 going risks for political and social stability in Ecua3 dor. 

4 (7) The activities undertaken by the Govern5 ment of the People’s Republic of China in Ecuador, 

6 including its development of the ECU–911 video 

7 surveillance and facial recognition system, financing 

8 of the corruptly managed and environmentally dele9 terious Coca Codo Sinclair Dam, and support for il10 legal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices 

11 around the Galapagos Islands, pose risks to demo12 cratic governance and biodiversity in the country. 

13 (8) Ecuador, which is home to several of the 

14 Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystems, including the 

15 Galapagos Islands, the headwaters of the Amazon 

16 river, the Condor mountain range, and the Yasuni 

17 Biosphere Reserve, has seen a reduction in its 

18 rainforests between 1990 and 2016, due in part to 

19 the incursion of criminal networks into protected 

20 areas. 

21 (9) On March 24, 2021, the Senate unani22 mously approved Senate Resolution 22 (117th Con23 gress), reaffirming the partnership between the 

24 United States and the Republic of Ecuador, and rec25 ognizing the restoration and advancement of ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Feb 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3591.IS S3591

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1 nomic relations, security, and development opportu2 nities in both nations. 

3 (10) On August 13, 2021, the United States 

4 and Ecuador celebrated the entry into force of the 

5 Protocol to the Trade and Investment Council 

6 Agreement between the Government of the United 

7 States of America and the Government of the Re8 public of Ecuador Relating to Trade Rules and 

9 Transparency, recognizing the steps Ecuador has 

10 taken to decrease unnecessary regulatory burden 

11 and create a more transparent and predictable legal 

12 framework for foreign direct investment in recent 

13 years. 

14 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the United States should take additional 

17 steps to strengthen its bilateral partnership with Ec18 uador, including by developing robust trade and in19 vestment frameworks, increasing law enforcement 

20 cooperation, renewing the activities of the United 

21 States Agency for International Development in Ec22 uador, and supporting Ecuador’s response to and re23 covery from the COVID–19 pandemic, as necessary 

24 and appropriate; and 


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1 (2) strengthening the United States-Ecuador 

2 partnership presents an opportunity to advance core 

3 United States national security interests and work 

4 with other democratic partners to maintain a pros5 perous, politically stable, and democratic Western 

6 Hemisphere that is resilient to malign foreign influ7 ence. 

8 SEC. 4. FACILITATING ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL TIES. 

9 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec10 retary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representa11 tive, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the heads of other 

12 relevant Federal departments and agencies, as appro13 priate, shall develop and implement a strategy to strength14 en commercial and economic ties between the United 

15 States and Ecuador by— 

16 (1) promoting cooperation and information 

17 sharing to encourage awareness of and increase 

18 trade and investment opportunities between the 

19 United States and Ecuador; 

20 (2) supporting efforts by the Government of 

21 Ecuador to promote a more open, transparent, and 

22 competitive business environment, including by low23 ering trade barriers, implementing policies to reduce 

24 trading times, and improving efficiencies to expedite 

25 customs operations for importers and exporters of 


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1 all sizes, in all sectors, and at all entry ports in Ec2 uador; 

3 (3) establishing frameworks or mechanisms to 

4 review the long-term financial sustainability and se5 curity implications of foreign investments in Ecua6 dor in strategic sectors or services; 

7 (4) establishing competitive and transparent in8 frastructure project selection and procurement proc9 esses in Ecuador that promote transparency, open 

10 competition, financial sustainability, and robust ad11 herence to global standards and norms; 

12 (5) developing programs to help the Govern13 ment of Ecuador improve efficiency and trans14 parency in customs administration, including 

15 through support for the Government of Ecuador’s 

16 ongoing efforts to digitize its customs process and 

17 accept electronic documents required for the import, 

18 export, and transit of goods under specific inter19 national standards, as well as related training to ex20 pedite customs, security, efficiency, and competitive21 ness; 

22 (6) spurring digital transformation that would 

23 advance— 

24 (A) the provision of digitized government 

25 services with the greatest potential to improve 


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1 transparency, lower business costs, and expand 

2 citizens’ access to public services and public in3 formation; 

4 (B) the provision of transparent and af5 fordable access to the internet and digital infra6 structure; and 

7 (C) best practices to mitigate the risks to 

8 digital infrastructure by doing business with 

9 communication networks and communications 

10 supply chains with equipment and services from 

11 companies with close ties to or susceptible to 

12 pressure from governments or security services 

13 without reliable legal checks on governmental 

14 powers; and 

15 (7) identifying, as appropriate, a role for the 

16 United States International Development Finance 

17 Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

18 the United States Agency for International Develop19 ment, and the United States private sector in sup20 porting efforts to increase private sector investment 

21 and strengthen economic prosperity. 

22 SEC. 5. PROMOTING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

23 The Administrator of the United States Agency for 

24 International Development, in coordination with the Sec25 retary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal 


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1 departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall develop 

2 and implement a strategy and related programs to support 

3 inclusive economic development across Ecuador’s national 

4 territory by— 

5 (1) facilitating increased access to public and 

6 private financing, equity investments, grants, and 

7 market analysis for small and medium-sized busi8 nesses; 

9 (2) providing technical assistance to local gov10 ernments to formulate and enact local development 

11 plans that invest in Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian 

12 communities; 

13 (3) connecting rural agricultural networks, in14 cluding Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian agricultural 

15 networks, to consumers in urban centers and export 

16 markets, including through infrastructure construc17 tion and maintenance programs that are subject to 

18 audits and carefully designed to minimize potential 

19 environmental harm; 

20 (4) partnering with local governments, the pri21 vate sector, and local civil society organizations, in22 cluding organizations representing marginalized 

23 communities and faith-based organizations, to pro24 vide skills training and investment in support of iniVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Feb 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3591.IS S3591

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1 tiatives that provide economically viable, legal alter2 natives to participating in illegal economies; and 

3 (5) connecting small scale fishing enterprises to 

4 consumers and export markets, in order to reduce 

5 vulnerability to organized criminal networks. 

6 SEC. 6. COMBATING ILLICIT ECONOMIES, CORRUPTION, 

7 AND NEGATIVE FOREIGN INFLUENCE. 

8 The Secretary of State shall develop and implement 

9 a strategy and related programs to increase the capacity 

10 of Ecuador’s justice system and law enforcement authori11 ties to combat illicit economies, corruption, transnational 

12 criminal organizations, and the harmful influence of ma13 lign foreign and domestic actors by— 

14 (1) providing technical assistance and support 

15 to specialized units within the Attorney General’s of16 fice to combat corruption and to promote and pro17 tect internationally recognized human rights in Ec18 uador, including the Transparency and Anti-Corrup19 tion Unit, the Anti-Money Laundering Unit, the 

20 Task Force to Combat Corruption in Central Amer21 ica, and the Environmental Crimes Unit; 

22 (2) strengthening bilateral assistance and com23 plementary support through multilateral anti-corrup24 tion mechanisms, as necessary and appropriate, to 

25 counter corruption and recover assets derived from 


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1 corruption, including through strengthening inde2 pendent inspectors general to track and reduce cor3 ruption; 

4 (3) improving the technical capacity of prosecu5 tors and financial institutions in Ecuador to combat 

6 corruption by— 

7 (A) detecting and investigating suspicious 

8 financial transactions, and conducting asset for9 feitures and criminal analysis; and 

10 (B) combating money laundering, financial 

11 crimes, and extortion; 

12 (4) providing technical assistance and material 

13 support (including, as appropriate, radars, vessels, 

14 and communications equipment) to vetted specialized 

15 units of Ecuador’s national police and the armed 

16 services to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle organiza17 tions involved in illicit narcotics trafficking, 

18 transnational criminal activities, illicit mining, and 

19 illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, among 

20 other illicit activities; 

21 (5) providing technical assistance to address 

22 challenges related to Ecuador’s penitentiary and cor23 rections system; 

24 (6) strengthening the regulatory framework of 

25 mining through collaboration with key Ecuadorian 


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1 institutions, such as the Interior Ministry’s Special 

2 Commission for the Control of Illegal Mining and 

3 the National Police’s Investigative Unit on Mining 

4 Crimes, and providing technical assistance in sup5 port of their law enforcement activities; 

6 (7) providing technical assistance to judges, 

7 prosecutors, and ombudsmen to increase capacity to 

8 enforce laws against human smuggling and traf9 ficking, illicit mining, illegal logging, illegal, unregu10 lated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, and other illicit 

11 economic activities; 

12 (8) providing support to the Government of Ec13 uador to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated 

14 fishing, including through expanding detection and 

15 response capabilities, and the use of dark vessel 

16 tracing technology; 

17 (9) supporting multilateral efforts to stem ille18 gal, unreported, and unregulated fishing with neigh19 boring countries in South America and within the 

20 South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management 

21 Organisation; 

22 (10) assisting the Government of Ecuador’s ef23 forts to protect defenders of internationally recog24 nized human rights, including through the work of 

25 the Office of the Ombudsman of Ecuador, and by 


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1 encouraging the inclusion of Indigenous and Afro2 Ecuadorian communities and civil society organiza3 tions in this process; 

4 (11) supporting efforts to improve trans5 parency, uphold accountability, and build capacity 

6 within the Office of the Comptroller General; 

7 (12) enhancing the institutional capacity and 

8 technical capabilities of defense and security institu9 tions of Ecuador to conduct national or regional se10 curity missions, including through regular bilateral 

11 and multilateral cooperation, foreign military financ12 ing, international military education, and training 

13 programs, consistent with applicable Ecuadorian 

14 laws and regulations; 

15 (13) enhancing port management and maritime 

16 security partnerships to disrupt, degrade, and dis17 mantle transnational criminal networks and facili18 tate the legitimate flow of people, goods, and serv19 ices; and 

20 (14) strengthening cybersecurity cooperation— 

21 (A) to effectively respond to cybersecurity 

22 threats, including state-sponsored threats; 

23 (B) to share best practices to combat such 

24 threats; 


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1 (C) to help develop and implement infor2 mation architectures that respect individual pri3 vacy rights and reduce the risk that data col4 lected through such systems will be exploited by 

5 malign state and non-state actors; 

6 (D) to strengthen resilience against 

7 cyberattacks, misinformation, and propaganda; 

8 and 

9 (E) to strengthen the resilience of critical 

10 infrastructure. 

11 SEC. 7. STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE. 

12 (a) STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE.— 

13 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Adminis14 trator of the United States Agency for International De15 velopment, should develop and implement initiatives to 

16 strengthen democratic governance in Ecuador by sup17 porting— 

18 (1) measures to improve the capacity of na19 tional and subnational government institutions to 

20 govern through transparent, inclusive, and demo21 cratic processes; 

22 (2) efforts that measurably enhance the capac23 ity of political actors and parties to strengthen 

24 democratic institutions and the rule of law; 


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1 (3) initiatives to strengthen democratic govern2 ance, including combating political, administrative, 

3 and judicial corruption and improving transparency 

4 of the administration of public budgets; and 

5 (4) the efforts of civil society organizations and 

6 independent media— 

7 (A) to conduct oversight of the Govern8 ment of Ecuador and the National Assembly of 

9 Ecuador; 

10 (B) to promote initiatives that strengthen 

11 democratic governance, anti-corruption stand12 ards, and public and private sector trans13 parency; and 

14 (C) to foster political engagement between 

15 the Government of Ecuador, including the Na16 tional Assembly of Ecuador, and all parts of 

17 Ecuadorian society, including women, indige18 nous communities, and Afro-Ecuadorian com19 munities. 

20 (b) LEGISLATIVE STRENGTHENING.—The Adminis21 trator of the United States Agency for International De22 velopment, working through the Consortium for Elections 

23 and Political Process Strengthening or any equivalent or 

24 successor mechanism, shall develop and implement proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Feb 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3591.IS S3591

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1 grams to strengthen the National Assembly of Ecuador 

2 by providing training and technical assistance to— 

3 (1) members and committee offices of the Na4 tional Assembly of Ecuador, including the Ethics 

5 Committee and Audit Committee; 

6 (2) assist in the creation of entities that can 

7 offer comprehensive and independent research and 

8 analysis on legislative and oversight matters pending 

9 before the National Assembly, including budgetary 

10 and economic issues; and 

11 (3) improve democratic governance and govern12 ment transparency, including through effective legis13 lation. 

14 (c) BILATERAL LEGISLATIVE COOPERATION.—To 

15 the degree practicable, in implementing the programs re16 quired under subsection (b), the Administrator of the 

17 United States Agency for International Development 

18 should facilitate meetings and collaboration between mem19 bers of the United States Congress and the National As20 sembly of Ecuador. 

21 SEC. 8. FOSTERING CONSERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP. 

22 The Administrator of the United States Agency for 

23 International Development, in coordination with the Sec24 retary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal 

25 departments and agencies, shall develop and implement 


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1 programs and enhance existing programs, as necessary 

2 and appropriate, to improve ecosystem conservation and 

3 enhance the effective stewardship of Ecuador’s natural re4 sources by— 

5 (1) providing technical assistance to Ecuador’s 

6 Ministry of the Environment to safeguard national 

7 parks and protected forests and protected species, 

8 while promoting the participation of Indigenous com9 munities in this process; 

10 (2) strengthening the capacity of communities 

11 to access the right to prior consultation, encoded in 

12 Article 57 of the Constitution of Ecuador and re13 lated laws, executive decrees, administrative acts, 

14 and ministerial regulations; 

15 (3) supporting Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian 

16 communities as they raise awareness of threats to 

17 biodiverse ancestral lands, including through support 

18 for local media in such communities and technical 

19 assistance to monitor illicit activities; 

20 (4) partnering with the Government of Ecuador 

21 in support of reforestation and improving river, lake, 

22 and coastal water quality; 

23 (5) providing assistance to communities af24 fected by illegal mining and deforestation; and 


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1 (6) fostering mechanisms for cooperation on 

2 emergency preparedness and rapid recovery from 

3 natural disasters, including by— 

4 (A) establishing regional preparedness, re5 covery, and emergency management centers to 

6 facilitate rapid response to survey and help 

7 maintain planning on regional disaster antici8 pated needs and possible resources; and 

9 (B) training disaster recovery officials on 

10 latest techniques and lessons learned from 

11 United States experiences. 

12 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State, 

14 in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal 

15 departments and agencies as described in sections 4, 6, 

16 and 7(a), shall— 

17 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate 

19 congressional committees a comprehensive strategy 

20 to address the requirements described in sections 4, 

21 6, and 7(a); and 

22 (2) not later than 2 years and 4 years after 

23 submitting the comprehensive strategy under para24 graph (1), submit to the appropriate congressional 


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1 committees a report describing the implementation 

2 of the strategy. 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGEN4 CY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis5 trator of the United States Agency for International De6 velopment, in coordination with the heads of other relevant 

7 Federal departments and agencies as described in sections 

8 5, 7(b), and 8, shall— 

9 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate 

11 congressional committees a comprehensive strategy 

12 to address the requirements described in sections 4, 

13 7(b), and 8; and 

14 (2) not later than 2 years and 4 years after 

15 submitting the comprehensive strategy under para16 graph (1), submit to the appropriate congressional 

17 committees a report describing the implementation 

18 of the strategy. 

19 (c) SUBMISSION.—The strategies and reports re20 quired under subsections (a) and (b) may be submitted 

21 to the appropriate congressional committees as joint strat22 egies and reports. 

23 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

24 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit25 tees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 


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1 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 10. SUNSET. 

4 This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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