Pressure Mounting on Biden to Counter China’s Free Trade Push in South America

US President Joe Biden meets with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2022. Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso’s visit to Washington this week prompted urgent calls from Capitol Hill for the President to do more to counter China’s growing influence in South America.

Lasso met with Biden on Monday at the White House with a nearly-done Chinese free trade agreement in his back pocket. A similar pact between China and Uruguay is also underway.

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