Valley: FTAA can eliminate poverty

TRADE MINISTER Ken Valley has said a “properly designed” Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) can eliminate poverty in the Americas. Speaking at the opening of the 15th Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) of the FTAA conference at the Hilton Trinidad yesterday, Valley said such an FTAA “has the ability to reverse the negative aspects of our legacy and alleviate the disillusionment of those in the Americas who experience poverty.”

However, the Minister said the FTAA “is not an end in itself and must encourage the creation of wealth, the sharing of such wealth and the participation of people. “We must not allow the recent results at the multilateral level to impact the FTAA. This may require the adoption of a simpler agenda over the next 16 months which encompasses equilibrium in the demands, ambitions, concerns and sensitivities of all our countries,” he declared. Valley said FTAA nations must “create an Americas where all citizens will be given an equal opportunity for personal growth and where every nation can grow and prosper. “We believe that only the negotiation of a balanced, comprehensive and development-focused agreement can provide economic benefits for the entire FTAA membership.

The successful negotiation of the FTAA is important for Trinidad and Tobago. We seek broad and full access to the markets of the more developed countries of the hemisphere for our products and services,” Valley stated. He said special and differential treatment is the fulcrum between the hemisphere’s developed and developing nations and hailed the establishment of the Hemispheric Cooperation Prog-ramme. Valley called for the creation of a regional integration fund “to reduce the asymmetries in the levels of development between countries in the hemisphere” and said “effective public outreach is increasingly critical for a successful FTAA process.”  The Minister also said TT can become “the natural home of the FTAA Secretariat.”  TT already has the support of 14 Caricom nations, Venezuela and Costa Rica and needs two more votes to become the base for the FTAA Secretariat. Miami (USA), Cancun (Mexico) and Panama City (Panama) are also bidding to become the site for the FTAA Secretariat.