In the struggle

Global Exchange issued the statement below on November 20 in regard to the "derailing [of] the proposed FTAA at the Miami Ministerial this week." (This version is a little different from the one posted on their website here. I received the one below by email.)

Just for anyone unfamiliar with the issue, FTAA, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, has been described as "NAFTA on steroids." It proposes to make the entire Western Hemisphere (except for Cuba) a "free trade zone," otherwise known as a "corporate wet dream." But - to push the metaphor right over the edge - the dream just might be ending because the smaller nations of the world are waking up to just who actually benefits from these agreements (Hint: Despite some varied successes, overall it ain't them.) and are increasingly acting as a group, knowing that individually they can't oppose the juggernaut but together they can.

FTAA-Lite Leaves Corporate Lobbyists Going Home Hungry
Victory for Social Movements in Derailing Comprehensive FTAA Agenda
Statement by Deborah James, Global Exchange, November 20, 2003

No matter how U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick tries to spin the story, it should be clear that "FTAA-Lite" emerging from Miami is a major setback for the U.S. and the giant corporations behind the so-called "free trade" agenda. After nine years of negotiations, the only accomplishment of the Miami Ministerial was that countries agreed to reduce the scope of each of the nine substantive issues. The real story of Miami is that the U.S. was forced, by powerful social movements across the hemisphere, to acquiesce to the fact that there is no way to achieve a comprehensive FTAA by the end of 2004, a goal that has been the centerpiece of the U.S. trade agenda for years.

The USTR says that, "because all nine boxcars are attached to the FTAA train, it's a success." But the truth is that the boxcars are completely empty - no concrete substance has been agreed upon within the different working groups, on issues such as services, agriculture, investment, and intellectual property.

Considering the strong-arm bullying tactics of the U.S. in Miami, this is indeed a victory. High level delegates from various countries reported that U.S. trade negotiators have been threatening and bullying them - "threatening to stop 'aid' and enticing them with special bilateral agreements" during the Ministerial in order to avoid a repeat of the failed WTO Ministerial in Cancun. In fact, the US announced its intent to negotiate free trade agreements with four of the five Andean nations (Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia) in a special attempt to isolate Venezuela, the country that has been the most staunch opponent of the proposed FTAA at the negotiating table.

And with so much of the complex negotiations put off until the next Trade Negotiations Committee meeting, the bloodbath has just been postponed. Rather than moving on track towards success, it looks more like a train wreck ahead. This certainly must be counted a victory for workers, poor communities, and the environment of the Western Hemisphere.

After nine years of negotiations and very little accomplished, social movements have even more opportunity to achieve our goal of completely derailing the proposed FTAA agenda.

This agreement does contains a new risk: with some of the most disturbing elements removed, "FTAA-Lite" may pass as a wolf in sheep's clothing. But we won't be fooled. We will remain vigilant. We will continue to monitor the talks in Puebla, Mexico, and at the bi-monthly Trade Negotiating Committee meetings. And we will do everything we can to work with our partners across the Americas to ensure that the FTAA never becomes law.