Western Hemisphere Partnership Act of 2023

To establish a partnership with nations in the Western Hemisphere to promote economic competitiveness, democratic governance, and security, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Western Hemisphere Partnership Act of 2023 2. United States policy in the Western Hemisphere It is the policy of the United States to promote economic competitiveness, democratic governance, and security in the Western Hemisphere by— (1) encouraging stronger economic relations, respect for property rights, the rule of law, and enforceable investment rules and labor and environmental standards; (2) advancing the principles and practices expressed in the Charter of the Organization of American States, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, and the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and (3) enhancing the capacity and technical capabilities of democratic partner nation government institutions, including civilian law enforcement, the judiciary, attorneys general, and security forces. 3. Promoting security and the rule of law in the Western Hemisphere (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should strengthen security cooperation with democratic partner nations in the Western Hemisphere to promote a secure hemisphere and to address the negative impacts of transnational criminal organizations and malign external state actors. (b) Collaborative efforts The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, should support the improvement of security conditions and the rule of law in the Western Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with democratic partners that— (1) enhance the institutional capacity and technical capabilities of defense and security institutions in democratic partner nations to conduct national or regional security missions, including through regular bilateral and multilateral engagements, foreign military sales and financing, international military education, and training programs, and other means; (2) provide technical assistance and material support (including, as appropriate, radars, vessels, and communications equipment) to relevant security forces to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle organizations involved in illicit narcotics trafficking, transnational criminal activities, illicit mining, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and other illicit activities; (3) enhance the institutional capacity and technical capabilities of relevant civilian law enforcement, attorneys general, and judicial institutions to— (A) strengthen the rule of law and transparent governance; and (B) improve regional cooperation to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle transnational organized criminal networks and terrorist organizations, including through training, anticorruption initiatives, anti-money laundering programs, and strengthening cyber capabilities and resources; (4) enhance port management and maritime security partnerships and airport management and aviation security partnerships to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle transnational criminal networks and facilitate the legitimate flow of people, goods, and services; (5) strengthen cooperation to improve border security across the Western Hemisphere, dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks, and increase cooperation to demonstrably strengthen migration management systems; (6) counter the malign influence of state and non-state actors and misinformation and disinformation campaigns; (7) disrupt illicit domestic and transnational financial networks; (8) foster mechanisms for cooperation on emergency preparedness and rapid recovery from natural disasters, including by— (A) supporting regional preparedness, recovery, and emergency management centers to facilitate rapid response to survey and help maintain planning on regional disaster anticipated needs and possible resources; and (B) training disaster recovery officials on latest techniques and lessons learned from United States experiences; and (9) foster regional mechanisms for early warning and response to pandemics in the Western Hemisphere, including through— (A) improved cooperation with and research by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through regional pandemic response centers; (B) personnel exchanges for technology transfer and skills development; and (C) surveying and mapping of health networks to build local health capacity. (c) Limitations on use of technologies Operational technologies transferred pursuant to subsection (b) to partner governments for intelligence, defense, or law enforcement purposes shall be used solely for the purposes for which the technology was intended. The United States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the use of such operational technologies is consistent with United States law, including protections of freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and freedom of association. 4. Promoting digitalization and cybersecurity in the Western Hemisphere (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should support digitalization and expand cybersecurity cooperation in the Western Hemisphere to promote regional economic prosperity and security. (b) Promotion of digitalization and cybersecurity The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, should promote digitalization and cybersecurity in the Western Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with democratic partners that— (1) promote digital connectivity and facilitate e-commerce by expanding access to information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains that adhere to high-quality security and reliability standards, including— (A) to open market access on a national treatment, nondiscriminatory basis; and (B) to strengthen the cybersecurity and cyber resilience of partner countries; (2) advance the provision of digital government services (e-government) that, to the greatest extent possible, promote transparency, lower business costs, and expand citizens’ access to public services and public information; and (3) develop robust cybersecurity partnerships to— (A) promote the inclusion of components and architectures in information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains from participants in initiatives that adhere to high-quality security and reliability standards; (B) share best practices to mitigate cyber threats to critical infrastructure from ICT architectures by technology providers with close ties to, or that are susceptible to pressure from, governments or security services without reliable legal checks on governmental powers; (C) effectively respond to cybersecurity threats, including state-sponsored threats; and (D) to strengthen resilience against cyberattacks and cybercrime. 5. Promoting economic and commercial partnerships in the Western Hemisphere (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should enhance economic and commercial ties with democratic partners to promote prosperity in the Western Hemisphere by modernizing and strengthening trade capacity-building and trade facilitation initiatives, encouraging market-based economic reforms, strengthening labor and environmental standards, and encouraging transparency and adherence to the rule of law in investment dealings. (b) In general The Secretary of State, in coordination with the United States Trade Representative, the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Finance Corporation, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, should support the improvement of economic conditions in the Western Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with democratic partners that— (1) facilitate a more open, transparent, and competitive environment for United States businesses and promote robust and comprehensive trade capacity-building and trade facilitation by— (A) reducing trade and nontariff barriers between the countries in the region, establishing a mechanism for pursuing Mutual Recognition Agreements and Formalized Regulatory Cooperation Agreements in priority sectors of the economy; (B) establishing a forum for discussing and evaluating technical and other assistance needs to help establish streamlined single window (C) building relationships and exchanges between relevant regulatory bodies in the United States and democratic partners in the Western Hemisphere to promote best practices and transparency in rulemaking, implementation, and enforcement, and provide training and assistance to help improve supply chain management in the Western Hemisphere; (D) establishing regional fora for identifying, raising, and addressing supply chain management issues, including infrastructure needs and strengthening of investment rules and regulatory frameworks; (E) establishing a dedicated program of trade missions and reverse trade missions to increase commercial contacts and ties between the United States and Western Hemisphere partner countries; and (F) strengthening labor and environmental standards in the region; (2) establish frameworks or mechanisms to review and address the long-term financial sustainability and national security implications of foreign investments in strategic sectors or services; (3) establish competitive and transparent infrastructure project selection and procurement processes that promote transparency, open competition, financial sustainability, and robust adherence to global standards and norms; and (4) advance robust and comprehensive energy production and integration, including through a more open, transparent, and competitive environment for United States companies competing in the Western Hemisphere, including by— (A) facilitating further development of integrated regional energy markets; (B) improving management of grids, including technical capability to ensure the functionality, safe and responsible management, and quality of service of electricity providers, carriers, and management and distribution systems; (C) facilitating private sector-led development of reliable and affordable power generation capacity; (D) establishing a process for surveying grid capacity and management focused on identifying electricity service efficiencies and establishing cooperative mechanisms for providing technical assistance for— (i) grid management, power pricing, and tariff issues; (ii) establishing and maintaining appropriate regulatory best practices; and (iii) proposals to establish regional power grids for the purpose of promoting the sale of excess supply to consumers across borders; (E) assessing the viability and effectiveness of decentralizing power production and transmission and building micro-grid power networks to improve, when feasible, access to electricity, particularly in rural and underserved communities where centralized power grid connections may not be feasible in the short to medium term; and (F) exploring opportunities to partner with the private sector and multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, to promote universal access to reliable and affordable electricity in the Western Hemisphere. 6. Promoting transparency and democratic governance in the Western Hemisphere (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should support efforts to strengthen the capacity of democratic institutions and processes in the Western Hemisphere to promote a more transparent, democratic, and prosperous region. (b) In general The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and heads of other relevant Federal agencies, should support transparent, accountable, and democratic governance in the Western Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with democratic partners that— (1) strengthen the capacity of national electoral institutions to ensure free, fair, and transparent electoral processes, including through pre-election assessment missions, technical assistance, and independent local and international election monitoring and observation missions; (2) enhance the capabilities of democratically elected national legislatures, parliamentary bodies, and autonomous regulatory institutions to conduct oversight; (3) strengthen the capacity of subnational government institutions to govern in a transparent, accountable, and democratic manner, including through training and technical assistance; (4) combat corruption at local and national levels, including through trainings, cooperation agreements, and bilateral or multilateral anticorruption mechanisms that strengthen attorneys general and prosecutors' offices; and (5) strengthen the capacity of civil society to conduct oversight of government institutions, build the capacity of independent professional journalism, facilitate substantive dialogue with government and the private sector to generate issue-based policies, and mobilize local resources to carry out such activities. 7. Western Hemisphere defined In this Act, the term Western Hemisphere

Summary: Western Hemisphere Partnership Act of 2023 This bill states that the Department of State should collaborate with democratic partners to promote certain objectives in the Western Hemisphere: (1) improvement of security conditions and the rule of law; (2) digitalization and cybersecurity; (3) improvement of economic conditions; and (4) transparent, accountable, and democratic governance. The first three of these objectives do not apply to Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela.