The free trade area of the Americas: A Latin American perspective

This paper discusses the potential to achieve concrete results in the FTAA from the perspective of the national conditions and priorities of Latin American countries. Section 2 reviews the current FTAA negotiating agenda and the principal tasks to be completed by 2005. Section 3 addresses the issue of exchange rate stability and some of the macroeconomic implications of further economic integration in the Hemisphere. In particular, it inquires whether a gradual approach to monetary integration would be desirable and feasible. Section 4 elaborates on the issue of fiscal constraints to economic integration. Section 5 points out the mechanisms that a free trade agreement can provide for dealing with the protectionist pressures engendered by technological obsolescence, recalls the improvements made by Latin American and Caribbean countries in the area of competition policy and uses the recent experiences of Australia and New Zealand to highlight the relevance of promoting domestic policy transparency. The final section looks at some additional factors that might influence the future scenarios of the FTAA.