QUITO, Ecuador - Business leaders from smaller economies in Latin America and the Caribbean called Thursday on the United States to drop agricultural subsidies and import tariffs as part of a hemisphere-wide free trade agreement.
The message came during a meeting of some 900 business leaders from across the Americas ahead of talks scheduled for Friday between ministers and representatives from 34 nations to debate the so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA.
The trade agreement would create a free trade zone in 2005 throughout the Americas, excluding Cuba. While supporters see it as a way out of poverty in the hemisphere, opponents say American companies will use market access to steamroll Latin American competition.
Business leaders from smaller nations want Friday's negotiations and final agreements to include compensation that will strengthen their weaker economies.
"The United States has a moral obligation to clearly lay out the rules of the game," said Salomon Larrea, president of Ecuador's National Chamber of Agriculture.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said at a news conference that the key objective is not reducing tariffs but "creating more jobs that will raise salaries and open opportunities."
Demonstrators have been descending on Quito from across Latin America all week ahead of Friday's talks. In response, Ecuadorean authorities have assigned more than 5,000 police to provide protection for the gathering and have dispatched elite police teams to boost security at the U.S. Embassy.
Thousands of protesters, including university students and Indians in traditional clothing, marched in Quito on Thursday. Police fired tear gas to disperse several groups that tried to get by some 500 policemen blocking access to the hotel where the business leaders were meeting.
Some students carried signs reading "No to the FTAA, no to imperialism."
Leonel Gonzalez, a representative of a Cuban labor group, said, "Even though Cuba is not part of the FTAA, we are part of Latin America and we protest the injustice the system proposes."
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