So we will just try to survive it and I will try to monitor it. All eyes are on Venezuela right now, and Venezuela's effect on the Caribbean nations from energy to trade and other things are extremely concerning, particularly Eastern Caribbean nations. So, I think the concern that I have is, all 6 nations of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States are members of the Bolivarian Alliance referred to as ALBA, that includes Click for source efforts to promote regional cooperation and ease hardship; so to what level have ALBA and Petrocaribe increased Venezuela's impact in the Caribbean? I believe I can address that concern enormously.
Mr. Farnsworth. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And I agree it is the pregnant concern if you will of the region. Venezuela is a nation that remains in collapse. Economically, some are stating it is no longer a democracy. It is a country that has extreme and lasting internal issues which it is going to take years to get beyond. Therefore, the relationship that Venezuela has developed with a variety of countries of the Caribbean in great times has actually become strained, because the largesse that Venezuela has actually had the ability to honestly distribute or to supply a concessionary on concessionary terms has been much constrained in the present environment.
I think what I would say remains in the present environment, due to the fact that of the problems that Venezuela is having and honestly due to the fact that of the chances that we have in the United States through the whole transformation of energy that we have actually seen in our own country over the last several years, we have an opportunity to come into the Caribbean as a partner and state, look, you know the programs and the activities that you may have been finishing with Venezuela are no longer pertinent and we can offer the same things that you need without the political or without the ideological overhang that you might have had formerly - How to finance a franchise with no money.
Duncan. Let me ask you something about that. Exists enough trust of the United States for us to enter that space with those countries? I do not know the response to that. Mr. Farnsworth. Well, I think in the existing environment we need to do some groundwork. We need to do some spade work. I imply, look, Petrocaribe was a very successful program and we understand why. I imply, it was prompt, it offered something that the leaders needed when they required it. It was symbolic. It was extremely, extremely simple to explain to people. I imply, we are getting oil from Venezuela.
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It was on one issue. And I think often, when the United States engages with the nations of the Caribbean, we have a lot of well suggesting programs and terrific concepts, however they are diluted, right? Not misguided, but watered down in terms of the effort and the focus. Under Petrocaribe, it was one product quickly discussed, extremely symbolic, and people said Venezuela's our friend - Trade credit may be used to finance a major part of a firm's working capital when. And I think what we need to do better from the United States' point of view is to build that level of trust through a continuous sustained engagement with the area so that people can say, look, we do trust you. How to finance a franchise with no money.
Mr. Duncan. I personally think energy is a great opportunity for us, no doubt about that. Let me dig into cash laundering and terrorism funding a little bit. There is a big push by the U.S. to have U.S. banks sever relationship with Caribbean-based banking organizations. Does that policy work to lower cash laundering and opportunities for terrorist organizations to access the monetary system? And that is most likely to Sally. Ms. Yearwood. In a great deal of methods it does the opposite, since once U.S. banks vacate the area what you have produced in reality is a space and that ends up being filled by other institutions.
So, what is being developed is a situation where there is more chance for terrorist funding or something to go wrong and someone to make use of that space. So I would state that the U.S. banks absolutely need to be a crucial and essential player in the regional money system. Mr. Duncan. I am most likely less worried, and maybe I should not be, however less worried about terrorism funding through the Caribbean monetary institutions as I have to do with money laundering. How to finance an engagement ring. We simply saw in Panama, a big $800 million money laundering scheme, property involvement, big number of workers associated with a genuine business-- still a money laundering scheme.
Ms. Yearwood. Part of the issue is the perception of threat versus the reality of the threat. Banks are not leaving the Caribbean due to the fact that there is cash laundering. Banks are leaving the Caribbean since the costs of compliance are extremely stacked versus the banking system. You have little jurisdictions and for every account that you are handling you have to put a substantial quantity of cash into ensuring that the expense of-- that business is tidy. However what we have to perform in result is create a system where the regulators, the banks, everyone is interacting, information is being shared, and when info is passed http://codykjpe366.raidersfanteamshop.com/the-buzz-on-how-do-you-finance-a-car in between the regulators and the Treasury or the regulators and the banks, individuals know where deep spaces are.
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And the issue in the Caribbean is Click for info that the economies are small, putting these systems in place costs a lot, however all the Caribbean will tell you that they fulfill the compliance regulations. Therefore there is a detach between what is actually occurring and what people are saying is taking place. I think among the typical complaints is the breakdown in between what is going on in offshore monetary services and what is going on in banking. And the Panama Papers were very mainly connected to the overseas monetary services industry versus the correspondent banking and de-risking problem that is presently being faced.
Mr. Duncan. I am presuming that the Federal Federal government is monitoring-- in Panama Papers a person is never ever implicated because and start shifting funds around, in possibly, the Caribbean nation. I am presuming our Treasury and FBI are keeping track of that, I would assume. So I am going to go on and accept the ranking member. Mr. Sires. Among the factors that I supported, or I still support the export of energy from this nation is to offset the influence of Venezuela due to the fact that basically they were using it for political purpose. You understand, if you take a look at the votes they took at the U.N.
So now Venezuela is in difficulty. I think their production is something like 40, half less, and there is a void there that we can help fill and, you understand, we can really assist in regards to simply having a little bit more influence on people. The other thing that worries me is that on the eastern part of the Caribbean. Essentially, we have an Embassy in Barbados and it serves all those islands there. On the other hand, you have Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, they all have an existence there. So I was simply wondering just how much of a competitive disadvantage this puts us when we do not have, actually, a presence in the Eastern Caribbean.