Council of the Americas Commends USTR for FTAA Market Access Offer.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2003 The Council of the Americas The Council of the Americas is an American business organization whose stated goal is promoting free trade, democracy and open markets throughout the Americas. This includes Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as South America. strongly supports the trade liberalization lib·er·al·ize v. lib·er·al·ized, lib·er·al·iz·ing, lib·er·al·iz·es v.tr. To make liberal or more liberal: "Our standards of private conduct have been greatly liberalized . . . offer announced today by the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. in Free Trade Area of the Americas The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) (Spanish: Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (ALCA), French: Zone de libre-échange des Amériques (ZLÉA), Portuguese: Área de Livre Comércio das Américas (FTAA FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas FTAA Free Trade Agreement of the Americas FTAA Florida Turkish American Association FTAA Federated Tanners Association of Australia FTAA Fixed Threshold Adaptation Algorithm ) talks: Earlier today, United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, President Bush's chief trade negotiator, announced a groundbreaking and comprehensive market access offer in negotiations for a Hemispheric free trade area. The Council of the Americas strongly supports the leadership position taken by the United States with this significant offer. Council of the Americas President Ambassador Myles Frechette warmly welcomed the USTR's announcement: "This offer with its promise of comprehensive access to the U.S. market for the countries of Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , clearly shows the depth of the U.S. commitment to the region. This is a demonstration to Latin America and to the world that the United States is leading the way to global prosperity and development through open markets." Today's announcement follows a pattern of leadership established by President Bush and Ambassador Zoellick that has reinvigorated the global trade agenda, and has contributed particular momentum to trade talks in Latin America and the Caribbean. With enactment of Trade Promotion Authority in 2002, successful completion of bilateral trade talks with Chile, and the launch of free trade negotiations between the United States and five countries of Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. , the Western Hemisphere has emerged as a top trade priority for the Bush Administration, and the FTAA is a cornerstone of that effort. When completed, the FTAA will form the largest free trade area in the world, encompassing 34 countries and 800 million people. The Council of the Americas and its members are committed to this agreement, and to the advancement of prosperity through open markets in Latin America. About The Council of the Americas The Council of the Americas is a business organization whose members share a common commitment to free trade and open markets throughout the Americas. Our programming and advocacy aim to inform, encourage, and promote increasingly free and integrated markets for the benefit of the companies that comprise our membership, as well as of the United States and all the people of the Americas. For more information, please contact Ambassador Myles Frechette at 212/628-3200. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion