PUEBLA, Mexico (Reuters) - Nations negotiating a free trade pact for the Americas have moved a step closer to bridging their differences and signing a pact by early 2005, Mexican Economy Minister Fernando Canales said on Tuesday.
A proposal from the United States, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico was presented to the South American Mercosur trade bloc in recent days and addresses points of contention, including export subsidies, government procurement, services and investment.
The proposal was put forward in the Mexican city of Puebla on Tuesday, as was another plan by Mercosur nations, Argentine Trade Secretary Martin Redrado told reporters.
While differences remain between the five nations and the Mercosur bloc, "this heralds an intermediate point of consensus that would signal an important advance, " Canales told reporters at a meeting of nations negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, agreement.
Trade officials began meeting in Puebla this week to map plans for the agreement among 34 Western Hemisphere countries by January 2005. "We are committed to the January 2005 date," said Redrado. "Nothing has changed."
Negotiations ran into trouble when some countries, including the United States, pushed for a more comprehensive agreement while others, particularly Brazil and Argentina, worried about giving up too much to U.S. interests.
This week's meeting is the first high-level gathering to work on the FTAA since trade officials from participating countries met in Miami in November and agreed on a two-tiered approach for finishing the FTAA.
Argentina's Redrado said Mercosur nations were pushing for more trade liberalization for goods produced in the Americas. "The proposal from the United States, Mexico and Canada is more restrictive than ours," he said.
The Brazilian government has urged Andean nations not to enter a free-trade deal unless the United States scales back tariffs and domestic subsidies that protect U.S. farmers from competitive Latin American producers.
"The United States has already shown some positive movement in this area," said Redrado. "Export subsidies in the hemisphere will be eliminated."
A statement by Brazil called for a "harmonious, constructive and successful" meeting in Puebla, suggesting it may now be more open to completing an FTAA agreement
Redrado said the two sides have also come together on the issues of intellectual property rights, competition policies, resolution of controversies and anti-dumping.
One participant in Mexico said officials expect to formally agree on three points by the close of the meeting on Friday: a common set of rules and obligations for all 34 nations; a definition of procedures for second-tier negotiations of multilateral agreements; and a negotiating schedule.
Aid organizations said the proposals do not adequately respond to the social and economic needs of the region's people, many of whom live in extreme poverty.
"Neither of the two proposals tabled in Puebla - from the Group of Five and Mercosur - offers a plan that would allow fair trade in the Americas or capitalize on the potential trade has to combat poverty and promote development," said Oxfam.
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