Associated Press | By TRACI CARL | November 19, 2003 : 534 words
Trade negotiators worked on a draft for the world's largest free trade region, with Canada, Mexico, Chile and several Caribbean nations advocating a compromise agreement that attempts to skirt the thorny issue of agriculture.
Trade negotiators must settle on a draft by Wednesday, when they will also take recommendations by business leaders and the nonprofit organizations. On Thursday, top trade officials from each country will start two days of negotiations on the final text.
The compromise, obtained by The Associated Press from a participating delegation, attempts to combine several competing ideas by outlining a two-tiered proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
It includes a universal agreement that all countries would have to sign, but allows nations to opt out of a second level of negotiations on controversial issues like investment. On the topic of agricultural subsidies, the proposal calls for waiting for and incorporating a decision by the 146-member World Trade Organization, something the United States had been seeking.
WTO talks in September aimed at reducing agricultural subsidies collapsed, but ministers are trying to meet a Dec. 15 deadline to get negotiations back on track.
In Miami, the U.S. and Brazil earlier proposed a more general draft that would allow countries to pick and choose among the more controversial issues being negotiated, but it doesn't spell out what those issues are or how they would be negotiated. Canadian and Chilean officials had argued they wanted something more specific.
Regis Arslanian, a lead Brazilian negotiator, confirmed the existence of the compromise proposal, but said the Brazilian delegation wanted to keep the original draft intact.
Richard Mills, a spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, said the United States is seeking a comprehensive, flexible agreement.
Mexican and Chilean officials did not return messages seeking comment.
Talks Tuesday slowed to a crawl, and the United States spent most of the day announcing that it planned to seek separate free trade agreements with five countries: Boliva, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. There appeared to be no immediate opposition to the U.S. plans.
Zoellick said the U.S. announcement didn't undermine the Miami talks, which include all 34 countries in the Americas except Cuba.
"Some countries are willing to move more quickly, and for those who are willing to move more quickly, we want to try to achieve that end," Zoellick said.
The announcement was the latest step in U.S. attempts to integrate the region economically. Within the Americas, the United States has free trade agreements with Canada, Mexico and Chile, and is in the process of negotiating similar pacts with Central American nations and the Dominican Republic.
The FTAA proposal also is drawing criticism from anti-globalization activists, a mix of environmentalists and union activists. An estimated 20,000 or more protesters are expected to turn up for a march Thursday.Associated Press:
