Americas' hemispheric trade ministers offer guidance for final phase of free trade talks
Regional-USA, Economics, 11/22/2003

Trade ministers representing the 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere released a declaration on November 20 that outlines their vision for a comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and provides instructions for the final phase of the hemispheric trade negotiations.

The 39-point declaration was issued at the conclusion of the eighth FTAA trade ministerial meeting in Miami. According to regional officials, it reflects the trade ministers' aspirations for an FTAA agreement that will create the world's largest free-trade zone --- a zone featuring a combined gross domestic product of nearly $13 trillion and 800 million consumers stretching from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of South America.

"The ministers reaffirm their commitment to a comprehensive and balanced FTAA that will most effectively foster economic growth, the reduction of poverty, development, and integration through trade liberalization," the declaration reads.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the conclusion of the ministerial meeting and the release of the declaration ushers in a new stage in the FTAA process.

"We are moving the FTAA into a new phase," he said. "We are moving from general concepts and people talking past one another to positive realities and opportunities. We are negotiating an FTAA, not just seeking it."

The FTAA process was formally launched by the leaders of the Western Hemisphere democracies at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami. As the trade talks enter their final phase, with the goal of completing the FTAA by January 2005, the declaration directs hemispheric trade negotiators to develop a common and balanced set of rights and obligations in each of the FTAA negotiating areas. These areas are: market access; agriculture; services; investment; government procurement; intellectual property; competition policy; subsidies, antidumping and countervailing duties; and dispute settlement.

Zoellick said that as negotiators seek to fulfill this mandate, they must be "both ambitious and balanced." The declaration indicates that the USTR and his hemispheric counterparts also "recognize the need for flexibility, to take into account the needs and sensitivities of all FTAA partners."

With that in mind, trade officials will seek to develop a common and balanced set of rights and obligations applicable to all countries, while also recognizing that countries may assume different levels of commitments.

"Negotiations should allow for countries that so choose, within the FTAA, to agree to additional obligations and benefits," the declaration states. "We fully expect that this endeavor will result in an appropriate balance of rights and obligations where countries reap the benefits of their respective commitments."

As negotiators work to define their respective ambitions, the declaration states, they must also produce an agreement that addresses the issue of the different sizes and levels of development of hemispheric economies.

"Special attention will be given to the needs, economic conditions (including transition costs and possible internal dislocations) and opportunities of smaller economies, to ensure their full participation in the FTAA process," the declaration pledges.

This special attention includes longer adjustment periods in implementing FTAA provisions, where necessary. Another important mechanism that addresses the different sizes and levels of development of hemispheric economies is the Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP). The HCP, said the USTR, is "a unique effort to try to link trade and aid together effectively."

The HCP is designed to try to enable smaller, less developed FTAA participants to better participate in negotiations, implement related reforms, and maximize their benefit from hemispheric free trade. Under the auspices of the HCP, these participants work with agencies -- including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) -- to identify and prioritize their needs. Resources are then mobilized from donor countries, USAID and other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to address these needs.

In addition to emphasizing the importance of addressing the divergent sizes and levels of development of FTAA participants, the ministerial declaration also underscores the importance of continued civil society engagement in the FTAA process.

The declaration indicates that the region's trade officials will continue to hold meetings with civil society groups on issues that are topics of discussion within the FTAA negotiations. The declaration notes that the ministers are also interested in creating a civil society consultative committee within the frame of the FTAA, upon the agreement's entry into force.

"Such a committee could contribute to transparency and the participation of civil society on an ongoing basis as the FTAA is being implemented," the declaration states.

In order to further enhance the transparency of the FTAA process, the ministers agreed -- as they had after previous ministerials -- to publish the latest FTAA draft agreement on the official FTAA Web site in the four official languages of English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

Zoellick concluded that while the declaration represents "important steps forward," it is clear that FTAA trade negotiators still have "very important work that lies ahead of us."

He added: "We now have a structure to go forward, but I do not think anyone here would underestimate the challenge of the task. We are now in the hard work of negotiating the FTAA ... this remains a tremendous challenge."

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, co-chair along with Zoellick of the FTAA talks, said he leaves Miami "very pleased" with the results of the ministerial. He expressed confidence that the declaration would enable negotiators to advance the FTAA process.

The declaration "gives us the conditions that we need to continue to press forward in a process" that "we are most sure will be successful next year or at the end of next year," he said.

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