How to increase security and trade across the Americas

When President Obama visits with Caribbean leaders April 9 in Jamaica and then attends the Summit of the Americas in Panama, trade and security issues should top his agenda.

Trade growth in the Americas can drive jobs and development – a good thing for everyone. But security issues in one country can haunt its trading partners and damage not just their security but also international security – a very bad thing for everyone.

{mosads}Why should Floridians care? Trade is already growing fast, and the Panama Canal expansion is expected to increase shipping through Florida’s seaports and through ports in the Caribbean Basin. Trade increases – across all types of ports – provide more opportunities for illicit trafficking.

All countries should want secure trade. No one wants terrorists using commercial shipments to infiltrate and destroy their ports. However, concern should go beyond this backyard interest. All countries have an international obligation to stop the proliferation of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons and their means of delivery and to prevent related trafficking in money and materials, including dual-use items that can be used for commercial purposes but could also be used in weapons production.

The obligation to address proliferation is a direct one. It comes from international agreements that countries have signed, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as from some UN Security Council Resolutions, such as 1540 (2004) that apply to all countries because of international security concerns.

However, many countries think that either:  A. they won’t be a terrorist target, or B. they don’t have proliferation concerns.  Many countries have not enacted the necessary laws and regulations and have not instituted appropriate controls. This is a mistake.

Even countries not directly targeted are affected after an attack.  After the September 11 attacks, Caribbean tourism plummeted as people feared flying. The United States instituted new visa policies and implemented programs to improve cargo security that affected foreign ports and shipping.

Proliferation can happen from and through almost any country. The United Arab Emirates was a transshipment hub for illicit material including to UN-sanctioned Iran, until it instituted tighter controls. Then traffickers went through Malaysia – until it tightened controls. Where next? With the expansion of the Panama Canal, ports from Miami to Jamaica will expand their transshipments and face challenges, including increased illicit trafficking.  Even countries without dangerous materials may have precursor materials or may have brokers, distributors, financiers operating on their territory who may be involved in trading them.  

No country is perfect. The United States even cited itself as a money laundering country in its 2015 report on narcotics control – and money laundering through real estate cash sales, high in Florida, is one area where US law could tighten up.

Those countries who don’t embrace tight customs, border and other controls will be targets for traffickers. This has happened in drugs – as Colombia and Honduras cracked down on smugglers, the trafficking moved back to the Caribbean – and will happen in other areas. Obama should use his visit to bolster support for the passage and implementation of strong controls throughout the Americas.

Decker is a senior adviser for the Managing Across Boundaries initiative at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan global security think tank.