F.T.A.A. negotiations will take new approach
To many of us the numerous acronyms surrounding the world’s current trade negotiations are nothing more than a bewildering bowl of alphabet soup. But, according to one expert, that food can either poison or nourish us. Patrick Jones reports.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
The establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas will expose Belize’s exports of citrus, banana, sugar and marine products to a much larger market. The trick is how to minimize the potential drawbacks. Principal Economist with the Inter-American Development Bank, Ennio Rodriguez, says what happens at the negotiating table plays a crucial role.
Ennio Rodriguez, Principal Economist, I.D.B.
“The rest of it is making the enabling environment and making the investment decisions that can create growth. And in the end is how to see trade as an engine for growth. It’s not immediate that trade agreements lead to trade and its not immediate that trade leads to growth, it is how you merge the three and provide a coherent strategy to make that happen.”
And to make it happen, the Ministry of Foreign Trade is facilitating the private sector with the expertise needed to help them understand how Belize can benefit from agreements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Chief Executive Officer Jose Alpuche says the F.T.A.A. negotiations took a different course at the ministerial meeting in Miami last November and with a January 2005 deadline for the agreement to be wrapped up, there is now a lot of catching up to do.
Jose Alpuche, C.E.O., Ministry of Foreign Trade
“So we’ve got to consult and ensure that the private sector, civil society, and government are all on board on the positions that Belize will have to take in these negotiations.”
And Belize’s position, like much of the region, is that the F.T.A.A. cannot be a slam, bam, thank you ma’am kind of deal.
Jose Alpuche
“Our core principle in these negotiations are specialty treatment for small economies, special and differential treatment. That will remain the core in the negotiations as they continue. The negotiations should not take a two-tier approach where there is one core agreement for all countries in all the negotiating areas and another level of negotiations for countries that are a bit more ambitious in terms of liberalization. It sounds good on the face of it, but be have concerns specifically as to how the special and differential treatment will be afforded to small economies like ours.”
Patrick Jones, for News 5.
A public consultation on the F.T.A.A. is currently underway at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall.
