with the following declaration:
Eliminating impediments to market access for goods and service among out countries will foster our economic growth. A growing world economy will also enhance our domestic prosperity. Free trade and increased economic integration are key factors for raising standards of living, improving the working conditions of people in the Americas and better protecting the environment.
On October 21, 2002, the seventh Summit of the Americas will occur in Quito, Ecuador. The Trade Ministers of the Western Hemisphere created nine negotiating groups in order to help construct the FTAA. These nine groups include: market access; investment; services; government procurement; dispute settlement; agriculture; intellectual property rights; subsidies, antidumping and countervailing duties; and, competition policy (Free 4). Despite the determination of the U.S. and other major players in the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Mexico, etc.) there are factors that make negotiations for such an enormous free trade zone problematic. Some of these include the wildly uneven income distribution in Latin America, a dramatic financial crisis in Argentina, rising levels of corruption and pollution, and the deterioration of institutions like public education and health in many of the proposed member nations. However, despite such obstacles to overcome, experts argue that such a free trade area is the best hope for stimulating growth and prosperity in the region. As trade expert George Russell argues, “In a world beset by economic slowdown and turbulence, political fragility and growing social challenges, no toll is likely to have greater success in regalvanizing growth and prosperity than a successful FTAA negotiation” (30).
The U.S. stands to greatly benefit from the formation of the FTAA. This is particularly true with respect to exported goods to the region, already increasing in many countries in the hemisphere. The Go...