Word: naftas
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...might want to apply such a destructive trade agreement to the entire hemisphere. According to the most recent FTAA ministerial declaration, the economic integration achieved through the FTAA would help in “strengthening democracy, creating prosperity and realizing human potential.” The evidence from NAFTA shows the emptiness of such rhetoric. But the FTAA would not stop at simply extending NAFTA to the Americas—its provisions would be much more extensive...
Take, for example, trade in services, which was not extensively covered in NAFTA. A leaked Oct. 7 1999 FTAA Negotiation Group report indicates that the U.S. is intent on liberalizing trade in services, including publicly-funded services like social security, health care and education...
...liberalization of trade in services implies modifications of national laws and regulations”—notably to limit the ability of nations to preclude private competition (foreign or domestic) for government services. Such a provision, coupled with an investor-state dispute clause as in NAFTA, would enable transnational service corporations to compete for the full range of government services covered by the agreement and allow them to sue for compensation any government that denies them “market access.” To cite one implication, this would potentially spell an end to nationalized health care...
...institutions and procedures of that richer area, and then you grow. That works," he said, citing such cases as Portugal, Ireland and Greece in Europe, "countries that have caught up very quickly to the income of that area." The economic success of Mexico in the wake of the NAFTA accord also proves the case. "There is a very tight link between the growth prospect for Latin America, the payoff associated with reform and FTAA success," Velasco said. "It is the big chance Latin America has for jumping on the fast-growth bandwagon...
...mixed response from Herminio Blanco, who was Mexico's trade minister from 1994 to 2000 and is now a consultant in Mexico City. For one thing, Blanco agreed emphatically that the FTAA is a powerful engine for prosperity. "Who could have thought in 1991, when we were negotiating NAFTA, that we would become the second customer and second supplier of the U.S.?" he asked rhetorically. "For Mexico, NAFTA has meant more than 1 million jobs." In the interim, Mexico has negotiated free-trade agreements with 12 other countries in the hemisphere, as well as with Europe. Blanco sees these...