The Free-Trade Area of the Americas

The Free-Trade Area of the Americas

Introduction to the FTAA

The Free Trade Area of the Americas is a trade agreement that is in negotiations between 34 democratic nations of the entire western hemisphere. This concept was born at the Summit of The Americas, where the leaders of each state and government agreed to construct an agreement that would, benignly put, serve “to unite the economies of the Americas into a single free trade area” (www.alca-ftaa.org).

In preparation to create the FTAA, these national representatives met several times, hosting these meetings in different countries and documenting their progress. If this agreement moves past its theory and discussions, the implementation of a Free Trade Area that covers such a large span of nations can bring forth a great dilemma that is as large as this agreement. The goal of the FTAA is to create the largest free trade region on the planet, which will engage nations in different geographic markets to trade without tariffs. The groups that are actively engaging in FTAA negotiations are segregated by consumer markets, namely: Market Access, Agriculture, Government Procurement, Investment, Competition Policy, Intellectual Property, Services, Dispute Settlement, Subsidies, Antidumping and Countervailing Duties. There are, of course, built in checks and balances to help protect the rights of smaller economies, civil societies, institutions, and private eCommerce. As reiterated in the FTAA committee’s eighth meeting held in Miami in 2003, the FTAA committee is “mindful that negotiations must aim at a balanced agreement that addresses the issue of differences in the levels of development and size of economies of the hemisphere, through various provisions and mechanisms.” (www.alca-ftaa.org)

Why governments across the Americas want the FTAA

All of the governments have shown support and commitment to the creation and implementation of the FTAA across the Americas. There are several common reasons why the...