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The 1994 Miami Summit of the Americas initiated the process of uniting the southern and northern halves of the Americas in a hemispheric free trade agreement. Since then, trade and integration have taken the central role in negotiations among the 34 Summit countries and considerable advances have been made toward the goal of creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005.
A range of related developments in the last decades prepared the way for the FTAA. During this time, the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries forged bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, leading to broader subregional pacts such as MERCOSUR, CARICOM, the Andean Community and the Central American Common Market. The economic gains of liberalized trade with reduced trade barriers contributed to a wave of economic liberalization throughout the region. Further, by 1994, all nations in Latin America and the Caribbean region, except Cuba, had held free elections and had governments pursuing a democratic system. This movement stabilized the political and economic environment and created an atmosphere of mutual cooperation toward a common goal. The United States provided significant policy and material support for these developments through economic assistance and political support for democratic leaders.
Since actual FTAA negotiations began in 1999, the process has been carefully institutionalized to produce progressively more effective planning and implementation. The process is administered by a tripartite committee consisting of the Organization of the American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which facilitate the negotiations by providing comprehensive technical and analytical support. The trade ministers of the participating countries supervise the work plan for the hemispheric trade agreement via their vice ministers, who in turn oversee nine negotiating groups. The nine groups and three special committees have concluded their first major task, producing a draft negotiating text for the trade ministers to recommend to the assembled heads of state at the Quebec City Summit, in April 2001. The major objectives of the FTAA were established in the Summit of the Americas Declaration of Principles. They include the promotion of prosperity, democracy and sustainable development through increased integration and free trade. The negotiations have followed certain criteria and guiding principles, including consistency with the rules and disciplines of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and coexistence with bilateral and subregional trade agreements, including MERCOSUR, NAFTA and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). Furthermore, government leaders have agreed on the need to devote special attention to smaller economies and different levels of development within the FTAA.
Florida and its citizens have shown their active support of the agreement through various organizations, including Enterprise Florida, the Florida Partnership of the Americas and FIU's Summit of the Americas Center (SOAC). Economic liberalization in Latin America and the Caribbean has greatly increased the trade flow from, to and through Florida, making the state more sensitive than ever before to economic and political changes in the Americas. Today, approximately 60% of Florida's trade is with Latin America. A further indication of Florida's central role in the process is the location of the FTAA temporary secretariat in Miami. Florida civic, government and business interests are actively seeking the establishment of the eventual permanent secretariat in Miami in 2005. This position has strong support in Latin America and the Caribbean, for which Miami is the natural business gateway to the United States.
Business and civil society organizations have also shown their interest in the FTAA by participating in the FTAA Civil Society Committee's official call for opinion papers. SOAC submitted one of these, the Florida Position Paper, which represents a consensus of views by leaders of Florida's business and public affairs communities on the movement toward hemispheric free trade. Despite these achievements, however, Summit observers point to the lack of technical expertise in the implementation of existing trade agreements in Latin America and Caribbean and the failure to enhance the region's competitiveness through effective dismantling of barriers. These are major weaknesses among the trading partners and a potential threat to a successful FTAA.
Many in the US also have expressed concern about the effect of economic crises, such as currency devaluation, in some of the participating countries. A troubling factor is the diverse composition of the FTAA. While some of the participating countries, such as Mexico, have maintained a steady path toward a stable democracy and liberalized economy, others, such as Venezuela and Colombia, continue to worry observers.
The new challenge has come about following the Quito Ministerial in November 2002, where the United States and Brazil now serve as co-chairs of the Trade Negotiation Committee. Brazil has always been reticent in its support of the FTAA process, given its significant interest in consolidating MERCOSUR. This coupled with the uncertainty of the policies that President Luis Lula da Silva has pursued and implemented since he took office in 2003, are areas of concern
A lot of ground still has to be covered with respect to bringing all member states to a common level of preparedness for the FTAA. Chile and the US have taken a step ahead with the signing of the US – Chile FTA, which will be used as the basis of the agreement for the larger FTAA
FTAA Update
The Summit process was initiated in 1994 when the heads of state of 34 nations of the Western Hemisphere assembled at the first Summit of the Americas in Miami, Florida. All of the participating countries have maintained democratically elected governments, free market-oriented economies, and have joined vigorously in the conduct of multilateral as well as bilateral and subregional international trade negotiations. While the Summit participants have remained committed to these core political and economic policy elements to assure democratic negotiations, they have also cooperated to establish institutions and mechanisms that facilitate and monitor the decision-making process, as well as implementation and follow-up. The Summit process that began in 1994 has now been institutionalized over the better part of two decades through the series of six major summits and specially scheduled meetings described below, and looks to continue in 2009 when the region's national governmental leadership gathers at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
If the negotiators can overcome the many challenges and obstacles in the way of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, they will create the largest trading bloc in history. An area of increasing concern, especially since the Seattle WTO meetings, is the clamor for consideration of social policy concerns in the FTAA; in particular, labor and the environment. It is not a coincidence that these issues were addressed in the successful negotiations for DR-CAFTA and the US – Peru FTA, and that issues in these areas and human rights have become obstacles in the signing of FTAs between the US, Colombia and Panama.
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