Created By: Emily Hartnell Kayla Luis THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS

WHAT IS THE FTAA? The FTAA is an expansion of the present North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) The FTAA's objective is the achievement of greater well-being and progress for all citizens of the Americas, as part of an vital vision of the political, economic and social future of the continent The FTAA is guided by four fundamental principles: Preservation and strengthening of the democratic community of the Americas Promotion of well-being through economic integration and free trade Removing poverty and discrimination in the hemisphere Guarantee of sustainable development and preservation of the environment for future generations

WHO IS PART OF THE FTAA The FTAA involves 34 countries with important differences in size, population, economic structure, economic performance and, stability and welfare

HOW / WHY WAS IT FORMED The FTAA is modeled after NAFTA, which created an import duty-free zone across the North American continent Economists reasoned that this ‘free trade’ zone would allow all three North American nations to succeed by allowing goods to move across borders more freely It was made to link less open and less developed economies with more open and more developed economies in a spirit of solidarity When taxes are dropped or put to a minimum, countries can import and export more products This promotes modernization and increases competiveness

WHEN WAS IT FORMED & WHY IT DIDN’T SUCCEED FTAA has been negotiated in private since December 1994 and continued regularly for ten years In three of the meetings that occurred from negotiators tried to work out differences from widespread protests, but instead of decreasing the protests, they became larger More progressive governments have been elected in countries like Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Argentina – that weren’t willing to negotiate their countries’ futures under the FTAA In November 2003, negotiators scaled back the scope of the proposed FTAA because of the growing differences By 2004 the discussions weakened and the deadline for signing the deal in 2005 passed without any agreement The agreement is currently suspended This was a huge victory for social movements throughout the hemisphere who have been trying to stop the FTAA

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