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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (22233)	8/6/2002 8:28:59 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

"...at a recent meeting in Guayaquil, Ecuador, South American leaders agreed to line up behind Brazil to enhance their collective leverage in negotiations with the US. The sub-text at Guayaquil was that an FTAA is inevitable, and that Latin American leaders will unite not to resist it, but rather to mould it as best they can to fit their national interests." This time AL is ready. No divisions. Common front of democraticaly elected leaders. Common front established. Brazil sends the message: Brazil warns US it must lower trade barriers By Raymond Colitt and Alan Beattie in São Paulo Published: August 6 2002 19:48 \| Last Updated: August 6 2002 19:48 Brazil on Tuesday made clear its disappointment with US trade protectionism, saying it could threaten the creation of a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Mr Cardoso's message came as President George W. Bush on Tuesday put his signature to the trade promotion authority (TPA) bill. This "fast-track" authority allows him to negotiate trade agreements without the threat of their being picked apart by congressional amendments. Following a meeting with Paul O'Neill, US treasury secretary, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil's president, said that their talks had been "constructive" and that he awaited "effective support from the United States". But Brazilian officials said that the TPA restricted negotiations on a series of sensitive agricultural products, including virtually all of its most competitive exports. "FTAA negotiations were never going to be easy but with the wave of [US] protectionism, we know they will be even more difficult," said Celso Lafer, foreign minister. When asked if the concerns had been raised in his meeting with Mr Cardoso on Monday, Mr O'Neill said he would not comment on a private conversation. But he said Mr Cardoso was "without any doubt about the importance of open trade". Armed with fast-track authority, the US administration hopes to relaunch FTAA negotiations as a policy initiative towards Latin America. Talks are set to conclude by 2005. "With the approval of the TPA by Congress, President Bush now has a crucial instrument to conclude the FTAA, increasing the flow of merchandise and ideas between our citizens and improving the economic conditions in the entire hemisphere," said Mr O'Neill. The Brazilian government, eager to obtain US support for its negotiations on aid from the International Monetary Fund to help its sliding currency, treated Mr O'Neill's visit with diplomatic courtesy. The stand-off Mr O'Neill triggered last week when he questioned Brazil's ability to manage foreign aid was put aside after his strong statements of support this week. "Brazil has the right economic policies in place to maintain stability so that the economy can continue to grow," Mr O'Neill said. "We also support the current negotiations of Brazilian authorities with the IMF." US barriers on steel imports and a renewal this year of massive farm subsidies have hit the growth prospects of Brazil's most competitive industries, angering business and politicians. Brazil's opposition candidates in October's presidential elections have also expressed serious concerns about FTAA. The leftwing Workers' party, which leads opinion polls ahead of October's presidential elections, says that, if US protectionism persists, "FTAA will not be a free trade agreement but an economic annexation of the continent". "There is a very strong suspicion in Brazil that [US] measures that hurt our trade will not go away," said Luiz Felipe Lampreia, former foreign minister under the current government. COMMENTS: If the US wants to twist he arms of the guys down there by sending currencies down, a la O'Neill, it isn't going to work. The guys already did what is necessary to satisfy IMF requirements. Good diplomacy is necessary. This is going to be very interesting.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (22233)	8/6/2002 10:20:49 PM
From: AC Flyer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

>>Is it really that bad? Are there really queues at airports with humourless state security apparatchiks strip-searching computer-selected 8 year olds and grannies?<< Yes, it is that bad. What's worse, we now have an entirely new security agency, the TSA, to complement the obviously inadequate existing alphabet security soup of the FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, NSA, Customs, Coast Guard and Secret Service, with airport security chiefs being hired at 6-figure salaries that are higher than the salary of the FAA Administrator, with a plan to hire 300,000 new federal employees, each of whom will be paid two or three times what they were making as private contractors and all will be eligible for a juicy inflation-adjusted government pension. (The TSA is for the most part hiring the old screeners, btw. In fact, you can be a veteran, a cop, have a Ph.D. in law enforcement, but if you don't have a year's experience as a screener, you can not get an interview with the TSA).