WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The United States is speeding the pace of the Free Trade Association of the Americas at a mini-summit this weekend in Washington.
"It's important when we are reaching the final stages of negotiation that all negotiators have a clear and common idea of the kind of agreement we want at the end of the day," U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Peter Allgeier, told Merco Press.
"This is our greatest challenge before the ministerial meeting in Miami next Nov. 20 and 21."
The 34 countries of the Americas, except Cuba, are involved in FTAA negotiations that has a January 2005 target date for a free trade area extending from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
However, the talks involving agriculture are not advancing as expected and the recent failure to the World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico, has opened the possibility of "bilateral agreements with those countries who share a vision of free trade."
Current FTAA negotiations are being conducted by the United States and Brazil, and the other countries expected to participate include, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad Tobago and Uruguay.
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