#192 Trade Opportunities in the Western Hemisphere
By Sidney Weintraub, Peter Field, Donald S. Abelson, and Isaac Cohen
From the Preface
At the time of writing this working paper, new trade opportunities seemed to abound in the Western Hemisphere. Following Congress's approval of fast-track authority for the Bush Administration, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada began negotiaons for the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Central Americans agreed to begin establishing a free trade area with Mexico, and there was speculation that Colombia and Venezuela will participate. Further south, the Andean countries signed an accord to remove eventually all barriers to trade among them. Mercosur, the "South American Common Market," moved closer to becoming reality with the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion on March 26 by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Free trade framework agreements were signed between the U.S. and eight other countries, and between the U.S. and Mercosur. Finally, conventional wisdom predicted that U.S.-Chile free trade accord woud be the first to follow a NAFTA.
The significance of the debate over free trade opportunities -- and the possibility of a hemisphere-wide free trade area -- cannot be underestimated. For this reason, when Sidney Weintraub prepared his colloquium at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Latin American Program expanded the length of the session and added three commentators, each of whom addressed trade opportunities from a different perspective. The seminar occurred on Friday, November 16, 1990 and, as expected, was provocative. Dr. Weintraub, who was a Guest Scholar at the Center during the summers of 1989 and 1990, presented his paper. Peter Field of the Department of Commerce presented the Bush Administration's perspective on the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative. Don Abelson of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative spoke about the prospects for a U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement and Isaac Cohen of the U.N. Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean provided a Latin American viewpoint. The following is the publication of Dr. Weintraub's paper coupled with an edited transcript of the presentations and of the subsequent discussion.
Related Program
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
