Book Description

If completed, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement would encompass an area of 800 million people & about $13 trillion in production of goods & services, making it the most significant regional trade initiative presently being pursued by the U.S. The 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere formally launched negotiations towards a FTAA in 1998, & set a Jan. 2005 deadline for concluding a FTAA agreement. This report analyzes: (1) progress made in FTAA negotiations since April 2003, (2) factors that have been influencing the FTAA's progress, & (3) future prospects for the FTAA. Charts & tables.