Chamber Advocates Continued Western Hemisphere Trade Talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Chamber of Commerce today urged legislators to make the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) a priority.

"If U.S. companies, workers, and consumers are to thrive amidst rising competition, completing the FTAA must be a top priority," said James Fendell, president of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA), testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before the Senate Committee on Finance. "Economic difficulties in a number of countries only underscore how critical it is that we proceed to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion."

With just nineteen months remaining before the January 2005 deadline to end the negotiations, there is a lack of momentum in the WTO Doha Round discussions according to the Chamber. In light of Brazil and the United States' mutual dissatisfaction with the other's initial FTAA offer, some leaders on Capitol Hill and in Latin America have questioned whether the FTAA is the best route for hemispheric trade liberalization.

In order to help optimize productivity and move the FTAA negotiations forward, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has held a series of meetings since February 2003 with FTAA Ministerial organizers Ambassador Charles Cobb, Armando Codina, and Ambassador Luis Lauredo in anticipation of next November's FTAA Ministerial and Americas Business Forum (ABF) in Miami.

"Trade expansion is an essential ingredient in any recipe for economic success in the 21st century," said Fendell. "Abandoning the negotiations now would only postpone the obvious benefits of improved access to hemispheric markets."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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