Trade officials agree on outline for world's largest free-trade bloc

MIAMI - Trade ministers from across the Americas - unable to agree on thorny issues like agricultural subsidies but pressured to avoid another failure in international talks - approved Thursday a watered-down framework for the world's largest free-trade bloc.

Ministers from 34 countries in the Americas, excluding only Cuba, were originally scheduled to finish negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas today. But after days of debate, they said Thursday they had achieved all they could in Miami.

The announcement came as police and anti-FTAA protesters clashed a few blocks from the hotel where the meeting was being held. Opponents say the agreement will hurt workers rights and the environment.

Ministers hailed their final declaration as a victory, with both former rivals the United States and Brazil saying it showed there had been progress in bringing countries together since World Trade Organization's talks collapsed two months ago in Mexico.

U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick said ministers had "learned some lessons" since Mexico and had moved the "FTAA into a new phase, from general concepts and people talking past each other to positive realities."

During the WTO talks in Mexico, Brazil led a group of more than 20 nations who insisted the United States and Europe eliminate agricultural subsidies. Since the talks collapsed, the WTO's 146 members have made little progress in breaking the deadlock.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Thursday's declaration was a good sign that there may be future movement within the WTO, and he agreed that countries were no longer "dancing to the beat of their own drummer, trying to explain his or her position."

During FTAA negotiations, the Bush administration has tried to keep negotiations on cutting U.S. subsidies to American farmers at the global level through the WTO. Brazil has done the same with discussions on investment and intellectual-property rights.

The FTAA declaration, hammered out by deputy ministers on Wednesday, calls for a core agreement that all countries must follow, but allows each nation to decide its commitment to the more controversial topics.

Mexico Economy Secretary Fernando Canales expressed some disappointment that the draft didn't go further in defining how markets would be opened and when.

"We want to go beyond this point," he said.

Thursday's declaration will now be turned over to negotiators for more work, which all acknowledged would be difficult.

"This remains a tremendous challenge," Zoellick said.

The final FTAA agreement, due to be reached by January 2005, will likely change what food consumers buy in supermarkets from Alaska to Argentina as well as dictate the future jobs of the hemisphere's workers.

In a speech to business leaders Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said that after nearly a decade of talks on an FTAA, it was time to have an agreement.

"Nine years is too long, and it's time for action," he said. "We can't sit around here waiting for people to study it, and study it, and study it."

However, he promised to protect U.S. employees from unfair practices.

"We have to be able to look our workers in the eyes and tell them they are on a level playing field," he said.

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