From Cancun to Miami

The meeting of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) ministers in Miami (20-21 November 2003) is significant for the future development of the hemisphere. The United States wants to dictate the guidelines for the FTAA and is pressuring countries to accept negotiation of areas which benefit the interests of the United States and its large corporations.

Several governments and broad sectors of civil society are opposed to this unequal negotiating framework, which would limit the capacity of governments to make trade work for sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Oxfam International asserts that the FTAA will not contribute to sustainable development. It is based on the failed model of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has neither produced growth nor addressed the crisis of poverty in Mexico.

This paper summarizes the reasons why Oxfam International opposes the FTAA. It puts forward our recommendations for developing different rules and provides an alternative framework for integration.