Chris Coons Asks State Department Official About Expanding Access To US Markets For African Countries

Forbes Breaking News

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) spoke about expanding access to US markets for African nations.

Transcript

00:00Just for knowing that our colleagues, you and I are going to be here for the duration,

00:03are being pulled in a lot of different directions,

00:04I just want to defer to my friend who I have learned so much for,

00:08more than I have learned in any of my classes at Stanford.

00:11You should work at the Hoover Institution, my friend.

00:14I appreciate your suggestion I should work at the Hoover Institution.

00:17I'm not trying to get you out of the senator.

00:19Senator Cruz is eager to second that motion.

00:23I will say this, that Senator Booker, I think, has upstaged the ambassador on Ask Kissary.

00:30And it's a damn fine demonstration.

00:33Thank you for a deference to my diplomatic skills.

00:35I really appreciate that.

00:36You should teach a class there, not leave the Senate, of course, my esteemed colleague.

00:40Thank you, Senator.

00:41I may wait for your questions nonetheless,

00:44and I'll take the opportunity to ask a couple of questions at the outset if I might.

00:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member.

00:50Fourteen years ago when I chaired this subcommittee with Johnny Isakson,

00:54we held an identical hearing.

00:56It was on the same subject.

00:57We issued a report afterwards.

00:59I could not agree with you more that Africa is the continent of the 21st century.

01:04When we held that hearing 14 years ago,

01:06seven out of ten of the fastest-growing economies on Earth were in Africa.

01:10And we said many of the same things.

01:12The framing is not that different.

01:15Critical minerals, enormous human resources,

01:19huge untapped potential, deep ties to Africa through the diaspora,

01:23and leader after leader, country after country,

01:26that would rather have more U.S. engagement, U.S. investment, U.S. partnership, than China.

01:32Despite what Senator Isakson and I and a number of others were able to do legislatively 10, 12, 14 years ago,

01:39China has exploded.

01:41If we had a chart behind me of China-Africa trade and U.S. Africa trade,

01:46the lines have crossed and accelerated.

01:49As you pointed out in your testimony,

01:51China has found Africa and is all over the place.

01:55First, I think our embassy footprints across the continent are critical.

01:59Senator Durbin and I worked during the Obama administration

02:03to force the Department of Commerce

02:05to make sure foreign commercial service officers

02:08were deployed throughout the continent, not withdrawn.

02:11Because market opportunities require foreign commercial service presence,

02:16I ratify your view that we need to strengthen

02:20private sector partnerships and public-private partnerships

02:23in our work with Africa.

02:24Can I ask you first,

02:26what are the plans of the State Department

02:28in terms of retaining or expanding

02:30our current embassy and consular footprint

02:32in order to help American businesses

02:35in healthcare and technology and farming and infrastructure

02:38have a stronger footprint across the continent?

02:42Thank you, Senator.

02:43You actually raise a number of the issues

02:45that we discuss every day.

02:47And by the way, I would say that

02:49I wish 14 years ago we'd gotten very serious

02:52and made some of these changes then

02:53because I think it would have been helpful,

02:56especially regarding the work

02:57that we actually need to do here in the United States

02:59regarding the actual processing of minerals

03:03so that we can be part of the overall supply chain.

03:07But as to your question,

03:09first, we have a pretty wide spread of embassies.

03:14Honestly, I believe...

03:15I've got about two and a half minutes.

03:17Oh, let me get faster.

03:18So I encourage you to say we're shutting down 10,

03:20we're not shutting down 10,

03:21we're retaining a strong...

03:22Not only do I not know of shutting anything down,

03:25I don't even know of any conversations about that.

03:27Go ahead.

03:28And I know there were some documents floating around,

03:30but those were not real.

03:32And there aren't even any conversations on that.

03:33Let me just record my enthusiasm

03:34for a strong presence across the continent.

03:37One of the things we did work hard on over many years

03:41was taking a small, underfunded, under-resourced entity

03:45called OPIC, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation,

03:47and turn it into the Development Finance Corporation.

03:51Senator Corker, then Chair of Foreign Relations,

03:53and I co-authored the BUILD Act that created it.

03:56And I meet later today with President Trump's nominee,

03:58who I hope to support and work with.

04:00The DFC has critical potential

04:04to provide competitive financing.

04:07China's debt trap financing,

04:09which is often opaque, often accelerates corruption,

04:12typically does not serve the interests of the people

04:14or even the nations of Africa,

04:16has to have a side-by-side challenge

04:18from the U.S. and its partners.

04:20I've recently talked with leaders

04:22of the Development Finance Institutes,

04:25or institutions, forgive me,

04:26of Japan, South Korea, Australia, Norway, the U.K.

04:30They are eager to partner with the DFC,

04:33but it still lacks a few key legal fixes,

04:37equity investment in particular.

04:39The DFC played a key role in the last administration

04:42in the Lobito Corridor Project

04:44that connects the Angolan Atlantic Coast

04:47all the way in to the eastern DRC

04:50and potentially all the way into Rwanda.

04:53What's your sense of the importance

04:54of sustaining the Lobito Corridor Project?

04:59Because I understand it enjoys sustained support.

05:01Yep.

05:02And when I was last briefed on it,

05:04a key piece of it

05:05was the seemingly irrelevant humanitarian mission

05:09of demining.

05:10Angola has millions of unexploded mines,

05:14and it has prevented a lot

05:15of economic growth and opportunity.

05:17The Angolan government came forward

05:19when I last was there

05:20with, I think, a $60 million commitment

05:22of their own money

05:23to partner with us in demining.

05:25But I've lost the threat

05:26as all these different projects

05:27and contracts have been canceled.

05:30Does the administration support continuing

05:32with the Lobito Corridor infrastructure project

05:35and giving these countries

05:38of that region, Zaire, excuse me.

05:40Wow.

05:41Sorry.

05:42Democratic Republic of the Congo,

05:45Zambia, Rwanda, and Angola

05:47access to our markets,

05:48not just Chinese markets.

05:50And are you continuing

05:51the demining partnership with Angola?

05:54Lobito is a tremendous success.

05:56We absolutely love it,

05:56and we're absolutely committed to its future.

05:59Indeed, I want to copy the model

06:00and do that elsewhere

06:01because it's been so successful,

06:03and especially thanks to DFC

06:05and their immediate action in there

06:08as the catalyst,

06:09which then allowed to bring in

06:11blended finance to me

06:12to make the project work.

06:14I worked on demining in Angola

06:16several years ago.

06:19I don't have the up-to-date information.

06:21I wasn't expecting that one,

06:23but I will find out

06:24if those programs continue.

06:26I know we have been supporting them,

06:27but I will find an answer to that

06:29and get that back to you, sir.

06:30I'd welcome that.

06:30Let me reference

06:32three other things briefly,

06:33and then I'll recede

06:34and perhaps stay

06:35for another round, if I might.

06:37I've been working hard

06:38with other senators

06:39on things that try

06:40and address current issues.

06:41Senator Ricketts and I

06:42recently went to the Philippines

06:44to look at the status

06:45of the Luzon Quarter,

06:46also a DFC-led project.

06:49Countering Chinese efforts

06:50to secure naval bases

06:52or military bases

06:53around the world,

06:54I think, is a key part

06:56of our competition with China.

06:58Their first overseas naval base

07:00is in Djibouti.

07:01Their first overseas

07:02major military base

07:03arguably is in Djibouti.

07:04There have been repeated reports

07:06they are attempting

07:07to secure a base in Gabon.

07:10And Senator Ricketts

07:11and I have introduced

07:11the Counter Act,

07:13which is to require a strategy

07:15specifically focusing

07:16on sustaining broad-spectrum

07:19positive relationships

07:20with countries

07:21where we are at risk

07:22of having them agree

07:23to host a Chinese military facility.

07:25Do you think that's necessary?

07:27Do you think it's wise?

07:28What's your understanding

07:29of the current status

07:30of this issue?

07:31I think it's absolutely necessary

07:33to compete against that notion.

07:36We want to have deep, complex,

07:39and positive relationships

07:40with all countries in Africa.

07:42But in particular,

07:43we make it clear

07:44to those countries

07:45that might be flirting

07:46with that kind of a relationship

07:48with China

07:48that they would be jeopardizing

07:51the ability to have

07:52that kind of relationship

07:53with us.

07:55Last thing I'll reference

07:56is Senator Young

07:57and I have the Finding Ore Act,

08:00which is,

08:01as you probably well know,

08:02recognizes the reality

08:04that although there are

08:05abundant critical minerals

08:07across the continent,

08:08most of them

08:08are not adequately characterized.

08:11And so the unique

08:13American resource

08:14of the U.S. Geological Survey

08:15under this bill,

08:17if it became law,

08:18would be offered to countries

08:20as long as U.S. or U.S. partner companies

08:23got the right of first refusal.

08:26It would be a wise way

08:27to use an existing U.S. capability

08:29and resource

08:30to help countries

08:31around the world.

08:32Earlier today,

08:32a bipartisan group of senators

08:34met with the Ukrainians.

08:35The Ukrainians have recently

08:36inked a critical minerals deal

08:38with the Trump administration.

08:40But most of the maps

08:41of where their minerals are

08:43date back to the Soviet era.

08:44We have the capacity

08:46to help characterize

08:46where they are

08:47and to make sure

08:48that our companies

08:49and our partner

08:50and allied countries

08:51benefit as a result.

08:53Do you think

08:53that's a worthwhile effort?

08:55Thank you very much

08:56for stressing it.

08:57Absolutely right.

08:59The appetite

09:00amongst professionals

09:01to engage

09:02with the U.S. Geological Survey

09:03is near infinite.

09:05They are the best respected entity

09:07of its type in the world.

09:08And their work

09:09across the African continent

09:11is well respected.

09:13And I get regular requests

09:15for engagement with them.

09:17I would look favorably

09:19and with great expectation

09:21to have greater attention

09:24from the U.S. Geological Survey

09:26on the African continent.

09:27I'd love to work with you

09:28on that

09:28and on both of these pieces

09:29of legislation.

09:30And I apologize

09:31because I have overstayed

09:32my welcome quite a bit.

09:33I have a few more questions

09:35if and when

09:35we have a second round.

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