On Wednesday, November 19 at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center will host a conversation on how trade integration with Central America can help enhance US economic security.
At this event, regional and trade experts will discuss practical approaches for improving trade between Central America and the United States. They will also discuss the CAFTA-DR agreement and the United States’ Section 301 investigation of Nicaragua, which the Trump administration suggested recently may have trade and tariff implications.
The event—part of the work of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center’s Americas Economic Security Group and its Central America programming—will also launch new findings in a new report, “Why modernizing CAFTA-DR matters for the United States, and options for updating the trade pact.”
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Speakers

Adrienne Arsht
Executive Vice Chair, Board of Directors; Founder, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council

Jason Marczak
Vice President and Senior Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council

Kristie Pellecchia Loiacono
Principal
Pellecchia International

Antonio Ortiz-Mena
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council

Juan Sebastián Chamorro
Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit (2002 – 2006); Former Presidential Candidate (2021)
Republic of Nicaragua

Enrique Millán-Mejía
Senior Fellow, Economic Development, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council
Agenda
10:00–10:05 a.m. | Welcome remarks
Adrienne Arsht
Executive Vice Chair, Board of Directors; Founder, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council
10:05–10:10 a.m. | Report presentation
Jason Marczak
Vice President and Senior Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council
10:10–11:00 a.m. | Upgrading the CAFTA-DR agreement and the Section 301 Investigation on Nicaragua
Speakers
Kristie Pellecchia Loiacono
Principal
Pellecchia International
Antonio Ortiz-Mena
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council
Juan Sebastián Chamorro
Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit (2002 – 2006); Former Presidential Candidate (2021)
Republic of Nicaragua
Moderated by
Enrique Millán-Mejía
Senior Fellow, Economic Development, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
Atlantic Council
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