QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Under tight security and threats of protests, U.S. officials worked Friday to temper skepticism from some Latin American countries about a plan to create a hemisphere-wide free-trade zone by 2005.
Business and government representatives from 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere struggled to outline a time frame to set up the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a trade bloc envisioned as an extension of NAFTA.
The talks were largely overshadowed by growing resistance by some Latin American leaders who united behind complaints the United States isn't doing enough to open its markets to businesses in the region.
``We have to defend our interests too,'' said Argentine Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckauf. ``We have to go in united to protect ourselves against the giant,'' he said, referring to the United States.
Venezuelan Production Minister Ramon Rosales also cautioned that creating a larger trade area required more effort from the United States.
``We need markets opened to us to help create jobs,'' he said. ``It's the only way to combat poverty and help strengthen our economy.''
Business leaders from smaller economies in Latin America and the Caribbean said they want the United States to drop agricultural subsidies and import tariffs as part of the agreement.
Closing out the talks, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellnick appeared to signal those voices had been heard, saying ``many have mentioned the need for an expanded role of the larger economies and I agree with that.''
But he urged that those differences should not be an obstacle to deepening trade links, particularly at a time when much of the region is grappling with economic turmoil.
``What better time is there to take on this new challenge?'' he said.
In the meeting's final declaration, officials set Dec. 15 as the date to begin tackling nettlesome tariff issues and vowed to continue working on the issue of subsidies, which have proved divisive, particularly between Brazil and the United States.
Both countries will co-chair the next round of meetings, scheduled for next year in Miami when representatives from the government of Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of the trade pact, are expected to participate.
The talks were the most intensive since the Summit of the Americas last year in Quebec, where protests marred negotiations aimed at creating the free-trade area from the Arctic to Argentina by 2005.
After days of protests, Ecuadorean authorities stepped up security, throwing up metal barricades to block off an area around the luxury hotel where the meetings were taking place. A police surveillance helicopter circled overhead.
Spray-painted messages on buildings near the hotel signaled opposition by some in Ecuador to the plan. ``Say no to Yankee imperialism and no to free trade,'' read one.
But as the ministers entered their meetings, there was little sign of the protests that had marked the days leading up to the one-day talks.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Quito on Thursday, chanting anti-free trade slogans and calling on Latin and Caribbean governments not to participate in the trade zone. But the streets of the Ecuadorean capital were mostly quiet Friday.
The treaty calls for countries to lower trade barriers and tariffs to help better develop cross-border business.
The trade group's supporters insist it will help alleviate poverty and improve competitiveness at a time when many countries -- including Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay -- are mired in economic crises.
But some in the region worry the pact will lead to the loss of jobs and local industry as new products flood their local economies.
As he headed into the day's meetings, Cesar Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, urged those countries seeking to advance free trade in the hemisphere to better inform their countrymen about the pact's advantages.
He also called on smaller countries in the region to develop social programs for those who might be most affected by any job loss due to a free trade agreement.
``There are some sectors that will face difficulty adjusting to the process and we need to protect them,'' he said.
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