AMERICAS: Ministers Meet for Another Trade Test

A high-profile meeting to discuss a pan-American trade zone opened here Monday amidst tight security and doubts about the fate of the embattled plan.

TRADE: U.S. Moves to Squeeze FTAA Opponents

The United States might be trying to re-write its strategy towards a threatened trade deal in the Americas by adding more pressure tactics to its old technique of doling out economic benefits to Latin American countries.

TRADE: FTAA Gets ‘F’ From Women

Women's groups have handed the Bush administration failing grades for its treatment of issues concerning women in ongoing talks to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

TRADE: Deadlocked FTAA Agreement Still Hard to Solve

A short-notice meeting called by the United States last weekend for trade ministers from the Americas might have saved U.S. officials a major upset a la Cancun when ministers meet again next week, but analysts say the gathering did nothing to change positions on the main issues blocking a regional trade deal.

AMERICAS: Nations Learn From Canada’s Free Trade Mistakes – Expert

The cautious approach of Brazil and other Latin American governments towards expanded free trade in the Americas results in part from the political and economic price that Canada paid for greater trade access to the gigantic U.S. market, says an expert here.

ECONOMY: Levi Strauss Shelves More Costly N. American Workers

Graciela Hilario, 53, knows that her 20 years of sewing experience are powerless against economic globalisation.

TRADE-CENTRAL AMERICA: NGOs Warn of U.S. ‘Invasion’

Opening Central America's borders to a flood of products "Made in the U.S.A." will hurt farming and other areas of the region's economy, warned groups opposed to the free trade treaty currently in the works, as negotiators wrapped up another phase of the talks Friday without producing any important results.

CANADA: Activists Coalesce Against ‘Deep Integration’ With U.S.

So far it is unclear if incoming prime minister Paul Martin will follow the advice of some of his business backers to integrate the country's economy and governance more deeply with the neighbouring United States.

TRADE-AMERICAS: Outlook Dim for Environmental Protection

A review of the 'green guardian' of the North American Free Trade Agreement announced Tuesday will undoubtedly reveal flaws, but the decade-old system will likely be superior to the environmental protections included in the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and other future pacts, say experts.

TRADE: Bush’s Bilateral Agenda Swims Against the Current

The U.S. administration's newly-minted post-Cancun doctrine favouring bilateral and regional trade deals rather than multilateral pacts is already banging into opposition both at home and abroad.

MEXICO-BRAZIL: Friendship and Rivalry Mark Presidents’ Meeting

Conservative Mexican President Vicente Fox met with his leftist counterpart from Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to once again repeat pledges of friendship and cooperation, but with an underlying current of rivalry.

TRADE-LATAM: Can G22 Bloc of Developing Nations Survive?

The group of developing countries that emerged as the G22 or G20+ to defend their interests in the face of the world's rich nations at this month's WTO ministerial meeting may have a short life expectancy, say experts in Latin America.

TRADE-AMERICAS: Culture is Not Negotiable

Many in Latin America argue that cultural products are not just another form of merchandise. But that premise is rarely applied when governments in the region negotiate free trade deals.

AGRICULTURE-MEXICO: From Poverty to Promises

The hype and glitz that surrounded the ceremony in which the Mexican government and farmers' associations signed a new rural development agreement Monday stood in contrast to its content, which hardly resembled the far-reaching measures demanded by small farmers.

TRADE: Central American Deal a Dud, Activists say

Activists from labour, development, human rights and farm groups are calling on the United States and five Central American countries not to rush a trade agreement that they say is undemocratic and would drive farmers and other vulnerable groups deeper into poverty.

NORTH AMERICA: Hemisphere Entangled in U.S.-Woven Net

A handful of Canadian soldiers are currently serving with the U.S., U.K. and Australian militaries in the attack on Iraq, although Ottawa has officially refused to join the U.S.-led invasion of Baghdad.

AGRICULTURE: Future of Mexico’s Small Farmers Hangs on Talks

Mexican farmer Luis Rosas hopes the current dialogue between the government and small farmers' groups will lead to new subsidies and a renegotiation of the timeframe for the lifting of tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but his hopes will likely be dashed.

TRADE-U.S.: Central America Deal Must Boost Labour Rights – Report

A proposed trade agreement between the United States and five Central American nations could further worsen labour and environmental conditions in the region if Washington does not use its clout to press for greater workers' rights there, says a leading U.S. think tank.

TRADE: U.S. Opening Offer for Americas Deal Ignores Farm Subsidies

In its opening bid in negotiations for a regional free trade accord, the United States on Tuesday offered to eliminate all tariffs on textiles and apparel imported from other nations of the Americas within five years.

DEVELOPMENT-MEXICO: Farmers Agonise in Land of Inequality

Farmers are demanding urgent government action to prevent the total ruin of the agricultural sector in Mexico, where the 12 richest individuals represent more wealth than that produced by eight million rural families.

MEXICO: Industrialists Want Strong-Arm Approach to Farm Protests

Industrialists in Mexico urged the government Monday to take a heavy-handed approach to protests by small farmers opposed to the lifting of tariffs in trade in agriculture with the United States and Canada, who have threatened new demonstrations and even a nationwide strike.