WASHINGTON - The Bush administration proposed Tuesday to cut tariffs on two-thirds of America's imports of consumer and industrial products from Latin America to help jump-start negotiations aimed at creating the world's largest free trade area covering the Western Hemisphere.
The administration offered to phase out over five years U.S. tariffs in the politically sensitive area of textiles and apparel as long as other nations agreed to a similar timetable. The proposal, however, was certain to draw complaints from members of Congress who represent textile states.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick called the proposal a bold effort to lower trade barriers throughout the hemisphere.
"The United States has created a detailed roadmap for free trade in the Western Hemisphere — we've put all our tariffs on the table because free trade benefits all and brings us closer together as neighbors," Zoellick told reporters at a news conference where the proposal was unveiled.
The administration is trying to energize negotiations that have shown little progress in recent months. Brazil, the biggest economy in South America, and other nations have complained that the United States was offering too little in terms of reducing its own barriers, especially on such sensitive products as steel and farm goods.
Lori Wallach, director of the Citizens Trade Campaign, which unsuccessfully fought the Bush administration's effort to win trade negotiating authority from Congress last year, said the new proposal fell far short of demands Brazil and other Latin countries were making.
"The United States is putting forward a proposal that basically ignores the key demands of countries like Brazil concerning such products as steel and agricultural goods such as citrus, soy beans and beef," Wallach said. "I think this will be seen in Brazil as a slap in the face."
Under the proposal, the United States would eliminate all tariffs on about 65 percent of U.S. imports of consumer and industrial goods from Latin America immediately upon creation of the new free trade area scheduled for January 2005.
All U.S. tariffs on the remaining products would be phased out over the next 10 years.
In the sensitive area of agriculture trade, the U.S. proposed making 56 percent of farm products duty-free immediately when the FTAA takes effect in 2005. Remaining farm products would be grouped into categories with tariffs phased out over five years, 10 years or in some cases even longer.
The U.S. negotiating offer will be presented later this week at a negotiating session in Panama. The discussions are aimed at reaching some tentative agreements before trade ministers from the 34 nations meet in Miami on Nov. 20-21. All Western Hemisphere countries except communist Cuba are participating.
The FTAA is intended to build on the existing North American Free Trade Agreement, which covers the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Markets would also be open for service industries such as banking and telecommunications and barriers to investment would be removed.
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