Peter Richards

PORT OF SPAIN, Apr 11 2005 (IPS) — The advertisements proclaim Trinidad and Tobago as “the natural home of the FTAA”, but even as the Patrick Manning government steps up its quest to make Port of Spain the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, others are questioning whether the pact has any future at all.

Many Caribbean governments say they are now focusing on strengthening existing ties with traditional trade partners like Canada and the European Union, and forging new pacts with mainland Latin America – especially the Mercosur group, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Ramesh Chaitoo, a member of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), which helps shape the Caribbean position in global and hemispheric trade talks, told journalists last week that the FTAA is as good as “dead in the water”.

He was not optimistic that plans to jumpstart the stalled FTAA talks in April would be successful, and hinted that even if the 34-member hemispheric bloc does come into being at a future date, it may be too late to have much effect on regional trade.

Since the last meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee was adjourned inconclusively, FTAA talks – intended to be the most far-reaching trade agreement in history – have been moribund due to number of factors, including widespread opposition from activist groups and reluctance among many countries to accept what they believe is an uneven playing field with the United States.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Trade and Industry Minister Ken Valley says that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is putting its own network in place, so that if the FTAA collapses, there will still be a regional free trade zone.

“Whether FTAA materialises or not, we will see free trade between Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said.

The CRNM says that the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting in Washington in late February had made progress in the stalled negotiations for the FTAA, originally due to be launched by the end of 2005.

The joint communiqué issued at the end of the consultations held in Washington said the meeting built on previous discussions, but did not give specifics.

The CRNM said it is now likely that the 17th Meeting of the TNC, adjourned early last year because negotiators were unable to agree on the core set of rights and obligations, could be reconvened in late April or early May of this year, and that negotiations could resume by June.

It also said the United States and Brazil appear to have advanced an understanding on market access concerns in the contentious area of agriculture.

However, Guyana’s ambassador to Venezuela, Odeen Ishmael, said this week that “as time stretches on, it remains doubtful that the negotiators will be able to reach final agreement to formally establish the free trade area before the end of 2005.”

Chaitoo told regional journalists that it was important now for the Caribbean to focus on its trade links with traditional partners such as Canada and the European Union.

He argued that the two Northern partners appear on the verge of making major technological and development investments in the Caribbean through their respective ongoing negotiations with Caricom, Caribcan in the case of Canada, and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with Europe.

In February, Caricom and officials from the four Mercosur countries met in Port of Spain, Trindad for continued discussions on enhancing trade and investment linkages. Agreement on a free trade area with Mercosur is expected at the next meeting of Caricom trade ministers in May.

Chaitoo said the jury was still out as to whether this would lead to an agreement similar to the Caricom-Costa Rica free trade accord.

Ishmael also had reservations, noting a recent request by Cuba to become an associate member of Mercosur. He said the request has added a new dimension to the FTAA scenario.

“For Cuba to be accepted, the full members – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – have to agree by consensus,” he said. “If Cuba is accepted as an associate member of Mercosur, it can present complications for the U.S. in the FTAA talks.”

The bloc’s associate members are Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, and Guyana and Suriname are also considering seeking associate membership.

“The U.S. and the other 33 members of the proposed FTAA have never considered Cuba as part of the process initiated and propelled by the Summit of the Americas. But by becoming an associate member of Mercosur, Cuba, at least indirectly, may have some influence in how the FTAA is finally formulated,” Ishmael noted.

In recent years, Brazil and Venezuela have expanded their trade and political ties with Cuba, and Havana’s trade with Mercosur countries has grown since Pres. Lula da Silva came to power in Brazil.

Central American political observers also indicate that Argentina’s left-leaning President Nestor Kirchner, like Lula da Silva, opposes the U.S. embargo on Cuba and supports increased trade with the island.

“However, it must be borne in mind that Venezuela has expressed strong reservations on the present formulation of the FTAA and is propagating its own free trade proposal, the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, which excludes the United States. So far, only Cuba, at the bilateral level, has expressed support for this proposal,” said Ishmael.

According to the ‘RNM Update’, the official publication of the CRNM, “Some FTAA watchers believe that the move by Cuba at this time is deliberate, contending that it presents the Mercosur bloc with a ‘bargaining chip’ in nudging the U.S. to concede on some crucial issues in the (FTAA) negotiations.”