Fitzgerald Introduces Bill to Safeguard Against Chinese Debt Trap Diplomacy

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) introduced the Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act to help train and protect non-adversarial government officials in South and Central Asia against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) predatory lending practices through its Belt & Road Initiative.

Building off a recommendation by the U.S. China Commission, this bill directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Development Finance Corporation, and other relevant agencies to make training to non-adversarial government officials in South and Central Asia available in assessing and mitigating the risks of China’s investment and lending in the regions. USAID would also report to Congress annually, any new lending or legal agreements signed by Central and South Asian nations.

“The Belt & Road Initiative has been used by the CCP to exert control through the buildup of unsustainable debt in many countries across Central and South Asia,” said Rep. Fitzgerald. “Not only is this an unfortunate situation for recipient countries, but this burden is often passed along to the United States and other development finance partners in the form of debt relief. My hope is that this bill will better safeguard countries targeted by China’s predatory loans and investments by starting a dialogue to assess and mitigate the associated risks.”

This bill is the fourth in a series of bills Rep. Fitzgerald is introducing to counter aggression from the CCP.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.