Commentary

Internal Contradictions Threaten the FTAA

Since the conclusion of last year's Summit of the Americas, negotiations on the text for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) have been ongoing and intense. During the Summit, it was apparent that the United States was having some difficulty imposing its vision, one in which the U.S. dominates the markets of the entire region. Most notably, there was opposition from Venezuela, with more muted criticisms from Brazil and the bloc of Caribbean countries.

This opposition has been growing and with the signature of the U.S. Farm Bill in May, Brazil, Argentina and the CARICOM countries have been openly questioning American trade policies, accusing the Americans of blatant hypocrisy.

On the one hand, the Americans need to guarantee access to the lucrative Latin American and Caribbean markets through a regional trade agreement. On the other hand, as Canadians are already well aware, the Americans simply ignore these agreements when it comes to protecting their domestic industries. President Bush is currently seeking fast-track authority from Congress to sign the FTAA, and has given no indication that he is prepared to compromise to make the Agreement more palatable to other countries in the region.

Argentina's profound economic crisis guarantees that the U.S. will be able to pressure it into supporting an American-dominated FTAA, while the Americans continue to ferment political instability in Venezuela towards the same aim. And the Caribbean nations simply do not have the resources to stand up to the Americans on their own.

However, Brazil, the largest economy in South America, is in a slightly different situation. It already has access to some of the most important markets in the region through the MERCOSUR accord, and also has growing trade with the European Union. As well, Brazil's major manufacturing and some agricultural industries have flourished through a series of protectionist economic measures, which they are loathe to give up.

Because of these contradictions, there is a possibility that the FTAA may collapse under its own weight. This would not mean that the U.S. imperialist aim for domination of the region would end, but rather that it may have to look for new forms through which it can control the Americas and the Caribbean, such as direct military intervention.