FTAA talks tabled until March

FTAA talks tabled until March    Negotiators involved in the development of a western hemispheric free-trade agreement have decided to recess until March.
   After a week of intense talks in Puebla, Mexico, the co-chairs of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Trade Negotiations Committee — the United States and Brazil — said the negotiators needed more time to consult with their governments back home and each other before advancing the trade agreement.
   There’s already concern about nations watering down the proposed FTAA benefits. The nations in the committee have already scaled back on their original goals in the areas of services, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, and access to agricultural markets.
   The United States wants to aggressively pursue so-called “plurilateral” agreements with other countries or blocs of nations. The United States plans to pursue this type of trade agreement with Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.