Trading Up? the Uncertain Future of the FTAA

Jiang, Kevin Z., Harvard International Review

The dream of free trade in the Western Hemisphere suffered yet another blow on November 6, 2005, as the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina concluded with no progress for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a vocal opponent of the United States, proclaimed the agreement dead, and many of his colleagues in the region tacitly agreed. Even US President George W. Bush conceded that the FTAA had taken a backseat to the more pressing matter of the December 2005 World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Hong Kong. Hostile public opinion, supported by government resistance to FTAA policies and US-led free trade policies in general, was the main reason behind the failure of the FTAA.

As early as June 1990, …

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Publication information: Article title: Trading Up? the Uncertain Future of the FTAA. Contributors: Jiang, Kevin Z. - Author. Journal title: Harvard International Review. Volume: 28. Issue: 1 Publication date: Spring 2006. Page number: 10+. © 1999 Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group.

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