COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggesting ways to foment a mutually beneficial agenda in Latin America. He emphasized the importance of resisting investment protectionism and prioritizing U.S. relations with Mexico and Brazil.

"The existing model for expanding trade in the hemisphere—in essence, piecemeal liberalization—has reached a point of diminishing returns," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in Current History.

With a new Congress sworn in, legislative leaders now have an opportunity to respond to the hemisphere’s most pressing socioeconomic, security, and development priorities. This would be a win for the United States and for the Americas.

On January 13, the AS/COA Trade Advisory Group released this report, detailing ways to reignite trade and integration with Latin America, even during troubled economic times.

International trade expert James Bacchus discusses AS/COA’s new Trade Advisory Group report and the need for the Obama administration “to come forward with some evidence that the United States is willing to work on a hemispheric basis.”

In a Miami Herald op-ed, COA's Eric Farnsworth examines the U.S.-Panamanian relationship since 1989. "[T]he United States and Panama have gone from hostility and military action to development spurred by globalization and trade," he writes.

Over the past year, Congress made headway in working with Latin America on trade, security, and energy. Looking ahead, 2009 holds great potential for advancing key hemispheric issues.