Talks on world's biggest free trade area to finish by 2005
Western Hemisphere trade ministers on Saturday set January 1, 2005 as the deadline to complete talks to create the world's largest free trade area from Canada to Chile, Canadian International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
Trade ministers also agreed their countries would ratify the deal by the end of 2005, he added.
Negotiators must agree on definitions and basic terms regarding tariff reduction no later than April 1, 2002 to start talks on market access by May 15, 2002, Pettigrew added.
The declaration issued in Argentina by the top trade officials from 34 countries sets the stage for the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City on April 20-22.
All countries agreed to release the entire draft text from which they will negotiate a final agreement in an attempt to meet labour, environment and consumer advocacy groups' calls for transparency.
"I honestly believe that international trade negotiations will never be the same," Pettigrew said.
The United States has been pushing for a provision that would restrict countries from relaxing their environmental and labour laws to attract investment.
"There was agreement to include labour and environmental standards but not to link them to trade sanctions in case of non-compliance," Chilean Foreign Minister Maria Soledad Alvear said.
For their part, Latin American nations would like to see the United States agree to negotiate reduction of its agricultural subsidies and changes in its anti-dumping laws.
"My impression is that there has been slightly more openness on the part of the United States on that theme, but it remains a very delicate matter for them," Pettigrew said.
Once completed, the FTAA would link more than 783 million people who produced more than $11.4 trillion in goods and services in 1999, generating about $2.7 trillion in cross-border trade.
A week of small, peaceful protests against the pact became violent on Friday night.
Anti-trade activists hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks at police standing guard outside a hotel where the Argentine President Fernando de la Rua and the trade ministers had been meeting with regional business leaders.
Police clad in riot gear used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and some minor injuries were reported. Most of the day-long protest occurred without incident.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told reporters on Friday he would urge his fellow trade officials to set specific objectives for negotiators to meet on their path to completing the pact.
"The United States is ready to move forward. We have a moment of opportunity and I would hope others will seize the moment," Zoellick said. "I know that end dates don't matter unless you can get the intermediate dates for work along the way."
(With additional reporting by Gilbert Le Gras)
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