Posted on 01/18/2006 6:22:32 AM PST by summer
Enterprise Florida representatives are to leave for South America on Wednesday (1/18) to promote trade in Florida, but more importantly to continue Miami's pursuit of the Free Trade Area of the Americas secretariat.
Spearheaded by Gov. Jeb Bush, the delegation will meet with officials in Quito, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru, through Jan. 20.
..."This is not just a trade mission," said Manny Mencia, Enterprise Florida's senior vice president of international trade and business development. "It is more goodwill and advocacy subjective to promote Miami as the FTAA headquarters" in a region that comprises 800 million consumers with a potential combined gross domestic product of $14 billion.
..."We are expecting good news from that end in our FTAA efforts," said Jorge Arrizurieta, president and CEO of Florida FTAA Inc., a non-profit advocate of Miami's pursuit of the FTAA's permanent secretariat. "There is a political side alongside the business side of the trip. Peru and Ecuador are important trading partners, and this solidifies that relation. There is no doubt that the governor is the best advocate for our state."
...In Peru, the delegation is to meet with President Alejandro Toledo and his cabinet. Plans for free-trade agreements could fail if ultra-nationalist Ollanta Humala wins Peru's April 9 presidential election. Mr. Humala, a lieutenant colonel who led a failed coup in 2000, has been among frontrunners in recent polls.
"Anyone who does not support free-trade initiatives can be a problem," said Mr. Arrizurieta. "But right now, it is too soon to worry about that reality."
(Excerpt) Read more at miamitodaynews.com ...
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I think Florida already IS the FTAA seat (the defacto one, at least)! But seriously, I think it's a good idea.
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I think it is a really good location for it, too. Thanks for your post, livius!
PS :)
Q: A question to yourself and to President Bush and President Fox, as well. You've been talking about cooperation, what you, Prime Minister, referred to as the new generation of success or the next generation of success. Keeping in mind in front of us the European Union, how much is this partnership a first step toward continental integration? If so, how far would you like to go and can you give us some sort of a road map, and perhaps give us a distinction between partnership and integration?
--Text of news conference with Bush, Fox and Martin in Waco Texas at the trilatera conference, March 24, 2005
Paul Martin--We're talking about big progress.
President Bush--We started to advance this idea in Quebec City, as a matter of fact, in 2000 with the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. To me that's the most practical extension of the recognition of the realities that we're all going to be facing as the 21st century evolves.
So the division you asked about in your question as to what kind of union might there be, I see one based upon free trade that would then entail commitment to markets and democracy, transparency, rule of law.
To this extent, we have entered into an agreement with the Central American nations called CAFTA.
(Keeping in mind in front of us the European Union, how much is this partnership a first step toward continental integration? )
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