Hemisphere Agreement Draft Text Released
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A draft negotiating text for an agreement to create a hemisphere-wide free trade zone prompted praise from the Bush administration and criticism from opponents.
The 434-page draft of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement was posted on the Web site of the FTAA secretariat. President Bush and the leaders of 33 other countries involved in the negotiations had pledged in April at a summit in Quebec to make the draft document available.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick called release of the negotiating text an “unprecedented effort to make international trade and its economic and social benefits understandable to the public.”
However, opponents of the negotiations charged that the draft text confirmed their worst fears about the threats posed to environmental protections and labor rights.
Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizens’ Global Trade Watch, said the text showed how little progress negotiators have been able to make despite seven years of effort.
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