The seminar is being organised by CARICOM diplomats in the United States and by the Greater Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce. Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz will open the event, which will discuss the implications of a hemispheric trade pact for the Caribbean.
The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce will register interested persons. Attendance is free and lunch will be provided.
At the seminar, Jose Manuel Salazar Xinnachs, trade director for the Organisation of American States (OAS), will give a general overview of the FTAA and the luncheon speaker will be CARICOM trade ambassador Richard Bernal.
Three panel discussions will focus on regional negotiating positions, economic impacts on regional economies, and challenges and opportunities for companies in the region.
Bahamas Trade Minister Leslie Miller will be a panelist along with other regional trade ministers and experts, including Caricom secretary-general Edwin Carrington, and Jean Holder of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.
The seminar will precede the eighth annual FTAA Ministerial Meeting set for November, when 34 trade ministers will begin the final phase of negotiations to remove trade barriers and promote economic integration.
Brazil and the United States co-chair this phase of the negotiations, which are expected to climax in January, 2005. The FTAA process was launched in December, 1994, by President Bill Clinton at the First Summit of the Americas, also in Miami.
The last ministerial meeting was held in Ecuador, where ministers for the first time agreed to formally receive input from non-profit civil society groups. The Americas Business Forum and the Americas Trade and Sustainable Development Forum will both hold workshops during this November's ministerial meeting.
And reports from Washington say the Bush administration is pushing for congressional approval for "fast-track" negotiating authority to keep the talks on schedule. The administration's foreign trade representative, Robert Zoellick, is arguing that approval is essential to swift recovery from the current recession and is part of the economic counter-offensive against terrorism.
CARICOM countries have already expressed concerns over the schedule of negotiations for a hemispheric trade pact. "Completing an undertaking of this magnitude and complexity by December, 2004, is very optimistic", said Ambassador Dr. Richard Bernal of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery.
American exports to Caricom countries (including the Bahamas) were valued at $5 billion in 2002, a 53-per-cent increase since 1994. The United States imported $4 billion of goods from Caricom.
By Larry Smith, The Nassau Guardian
