[asia-apec 1692] Barshefsky seeks to close deal by 2003

[APEC Monitoring Group]

> > (from the Toronto Star, December 12, 2000)
> > 
> > Draft of trade pact for all Americas due soon
> > 
> > WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiators could complete a
> > draft free trade
> > agreement covering from Canada to the southernmost
> > tip of Latin America by
> > the end of the year, setting the stage for a final
> > package in 2003, the
> > U.S. trade representative said Tuesday.
> > 
> > Charlene Barshefsky also told a briefing it was
> > critical that the United
> > States and Brazil work together to make the Free
> > Trade Area of the
> > Americas (FTAA) pact a reality.
> > 
> > The current goal for reaching an agreement among the
> > 34 countries is 2005.
> > But since a rough draft of the major chapters of the
> > agreement was likely
> > to ''be out by the end of this year or early next
> > ... we can certainly
> > conclude negotiations in 2003'' if countries are
> > willing, Barshefsky said.
> > 
> > The agreement would include virtually all countries
> > in the Western
> > Hemisphere with the exception of Cuba.
> > 
> > Barshefsky has accused Brazil of dragging its feet
> > in the trade talks to
> > give its industries more time to prepare for foreign
> > competition.
> > 
> > U.S.-Brazil trade relations have also been strained
> > by the announcement
> > the United States would begin talks with Chile on a
> > free trade agreement,
> > similar to the pacts it has with Mexico and Canada
> > under the North
> > American Free Trade Agreement.
> > 
> > Brazil responded by suspending negotiations on
> > Chile's entry into
> > Mercosur, a South American preferential trade bloc
> > that also includes
> > Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.
> > 
> > Barshefsky said Brazil had no reason to be surprised
> > by the announcement,
> > since the United States and Chile have talked about
> > negotiating a
> > bilateral free trade agreement for years.
> > 
> > ''If the NAFTA countries and the Mercosur countries
> > cannot work together,
> > we will put into jeopardy the Free Trade Area of the
> > Americas, which I
> > believe all countries in the region want, including
> > Brazil,'' she said.
> > 
> > Western Hemisphere leaders will discuss speeding up
> > the FTAA talks at a
> > summit meeting in Quebec set for April 20-22.
> > 
> > Regional trade ministers meet two weeks earlier in
> > Buenos Aires to sign
> > off on the proposed text to slash tariffs and other
> > trade barriers.
> > 
> >  When countries set a goal in 1994 for completing a
> > hemispheric agreement
> > by 2005, many felt ''that was rather too long,''
> > Barshefsky said.
> > 
> > Concluding the talks in 2003 is a ''realistic goal''
> > that countries should
> > pursue, she said.
> > 
> >  The United States wants its talks with Chile to
> > accelerate negotiations
> > on the FTAA, just as it hopes ongoing free trade
> > talks with Singapore will
> > set the stage for other free trade agreements in
> > Southeast Asia,
> > Barshefsky said.