GAO: USTR’s PREPARATION FOR FTAA NEGOTIATIONS QUESTIONED

GAO: USTRÆS PREPARATION FOR FTAA NEGOTIATIONS QUESTIONED    The U.S. Trade Representative may not be sufficiently prepared to co-chair Free Trade Area of Americas negotiations in November.
   According to a newly released Government Accounting Office report, the USTR has “little experience in hosting a major ministerial meeting, and its staff remains small and is stretched thin.”
   The report also pointed out the USTR has only started to plan for the upcoming FTAA meeting and is “counting on funding that has not yet been secured.”
   In addition, the GAO said there’s a risk of protests during the November ministerial meetings. “Factoring security for the invited participants into the logistical arrangements for the ministerial is a prime concern,” the GAO said.
   The FTAA comprises 34 nations in North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. This agreement, scheduled to enter into force December 2005, would eliminate tariffs and create common trade and investment rules for the region.
   There is some concern, however, about the political will of the United States and Brazil, the other co-chair, to meet the 2005 deadline. There are also challenges with eliminating agricultural subsidies.