USAID LAC Trade Update - March 2005
1. TNC Committee met recently
The co-chairs of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Trade
Negotiations Committee (TNC) – United States and Brazil
– met on February 22-23 in Washington, D.C.
The main issue at the meeting was development of a framework
of rights and obligations governing the negotiations.
The group is expected to meet on March 29-30 to continue
consultations.
2. New Rural Development Initiative Launched
The World Bank and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation
on Agriculture launched last month the “Ed Rural Alliance”
to generate local skills and increase competitiveness in the
Latin America and Caribbean region.
3. Annual Trade Report to Congress
The Bush Administration submitted its 2005
Trade Policy Agenda and the 2004 Annual Report of the President
on the Trade Agreements Program to Congress on March 1st.
The submission reports that the U.S. now has completed negotiations
with 12 countries and is in negotiations with an additional
12. It reports that collectively this block of 24 countries
represented an export market of $78 million in U.S. exports
last year – the country’s third largest market
and the world’s sixth largest economy.
“In 2005, the United States is seeking to expand on
this record … with an active and comprehensive trade
liberalizing agenda… to focus on monitoring and enforcing
existing U.S. trade agreements and trade laws, building the
capacity of developing countries to participate in the global
economy and making the case for free trade to the American
public,” former U.S. Trade Representative Robert B.
Zoellick wrote.
4. Agricultural “Raise Plus” contract
awarded
USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and
Trade has awarded a five-year and Indefinite Quantity Contract
to promote market-driven, environmentally sound agricultural
development though technical services and support to the field
operation. The “Raise Plus” contract was awarded
to Weidemann Associates consortium. Information.
B. Resources
CAFTA-Dominican
Republic Briefing Book
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office recently released
the Central America Fair Trade Agreement (CAFTA) briefing
book on the Dominican Republic. Included in the book are the
following issues:
- State-by-state export overview,
- Leveling the playing field for U.S. Workers and Farmers,
- Strengthening protections for labor rights, and
- Environmental advancements.
Global
Agricultural Trade and the Developing Countries –
Edited by M. Ataman Aksoy and John C. Beghin report on how
agricultural protection continues to be one of the most contentious
issues in global trade negotiations.
The
State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2004 – The
U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization reports prices for
agricultural items have fallen by two percent per year over
the last four decades. This means less expensive food for
the indigent but also a loss of income and unemployment for
many of the rural poor in agriculture-based countries. The
report is available in several languages below:
C. Upcoming dates
March 22-23 – Latin
American Leadership Forum in Washington, DC.
March 30-April 4 – National
Multi-cultural Business Conference in Mashantucket, CT.
April 11-13 – Symposium
of the Americas in Miami, FLA. Contact: Dolores Quintero
at 305-225-2123
April 18-22 – Eighth round of U.S.
– Andean FTA negotiations in Peru
June 5-7 – Annual Meeting of the Association
for International Agriculture and Rural Development in
Washington, DC.
November (first week) -- IV – Summit
of the Americas, Mar del Plata, Argentina
Back to Top ^
|
