WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The United States will be striving to eliminate tariffs on most goods from Latin America over the next five years, including textiles and agricultural goods, the country's top trade official said Tuesday.
The move is part of efforts by the U.S. trade representative to push through the Free Trade Area of the Americas treaty. The pact would open up markets worth $13 trillion in 34 countries with nearly 800 million people. The agreement would, however, depend on all potential member nations joining the pact.
"It is our shared hemispheric vision that free trade and openness benefits everyone and provides opportunity, prosperity and hope to all our peoples. ... We've put all our tariffs on the table because free trade benefits all and brings us closer together as neighbors," stated U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
Once a focal point for the Bush administration, negotiations on the FTAA were sidelined after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which shifted White House attention to the Middle East and away from Latin America.
But the hope now is that the pact will be concluded by Jan. 1, 2005, which will depend on the U.S. Congress and legislatures in the 33 other countries accepting the pact.
In the meantime, the USTR will begin negotiations with other FTAA countries, responding to each other's initial offers ahead of the ministerial meeting in Miami set for November. The United States will target five key areas: consumer and industrial goods, agriculture, services, investments and government procurement.
The pact is expected to benefit Latin American nations that have been pressing hard for lower U.S. tariffs, particularly on textiles and agricultural produce, which remain protected by the federal government.
But Zoellick pointed out that the FTAA would benefit not only Latin American nations, many of which are facing political and economic challenges, but U.S. consumers as well.
"The FTAA would expand U.S. access to Western Hemisphere markets. U.S. tariffs average 2 percent to 3 percent, while tariffs and other barriers in Latin America are typically much higher," the USTR stated.
The FTAA "will increase purchasing power for working families and provide greater choice in the marketplace. It is estimated that the average family of four would see an income gain of $814 per year from goods and services liberalization in the FTAA," it added.
Nearly 65 percent of U.S. imports come from the FTAA region, and those products would become duty free immediately under the agreement. And 56 percent of farm imports would also become duty free immediately after the FTAA takes effect.
