Trade and the Americas (Congressional Research Service Report for Congress)

0/5 ( ratings)

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress

...At the 1994 Summit of the Americas, 34
hemispheric democracies agreed to create a
“Free Trade Area of the Americas”
no later than 2005. If created, the FTAA
would be a $13 trillion market of 34 countries
and nearly 800 million
people. The population alone would make it
the largest free trade area in the world with
nearly twice the 450 million population of the
now 25-nation European Union. In the nearly
ten years following the 1994 summit, Western
Hemisphere trade ministers have met eight
times to advance the negotiating process. At
the last ministerial held from November 17-
20 2003 in Miami, ministers agreed to a declaration
that set a September 2004 deadline for
the market access talks, created a two-tiered
FTAA structure, and reaffirmed countries’
commitment to complete the entire FTAA by
January 2005. But since the Miami Ministerial,
the negotiations have been stalemated due
to serious differences between the United
States and Brazil. Currently, new deadlines for
concluding the talks may need to be agreed
upon, as well as a new date for the next
Ministerial, which had been scheduled
sometime later this year in Brazil. If an FTAA
is eventually reached, it is likely to be less
comprehensive and ambitious than previously
envisioned. Premised on the view that
simultaneous negotiations serve as prods and
stepping-stones to hemispheric free trade, the
Bush Administration has also pursued free
trade agreements with individual
countries or groups of countries in the region.
The first involves an FTA with Chile - an
agreement which after a number of setbacks
and long delays was concluded December 11,
2002. USTR Robert Zoellick signed the
agreement June 6, 2003, and Congress approved
the agreement last summer. The second
free trade negotiation involves five Central
American countries — Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua. The Administration started formal
negotiations on January 27, 2003, concluded
an agreement with four of the original five
countries on December
17, 2003, and signed the agreement on May
28, 2004. A separate agreement with the
Dominican Republic was reached on March
15, 2004, paving the way for this country to
dock-on to the U.S.-Central American free
trade agreement ....

Congressional Research Service

The Congressional Research Service serves shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.

CRS's analytic capabilities integrate multiple disciplines and research methodologies. In a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, CRS provides Congress with the vital, analytical support it needs to address the most complex public policy issues facing the nation. Its work incorporates program and legislative expertise, quantitative methodologies, and legal and economic analysis.