Leslie Miller, minister of trdae and industry, has cast considerable doubt on whether the Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA) agreement will be completed as scheduled, telling the House of Assembly’s deputy speaker that the “likelihood of the FTAA going into force by 2005 or 2006 is like you or me being able to fly to the moon on a Bahamasair jet.”
In his contribution to the 2003-2004 Budget debate, Mr. Miller said the strategy document for the Bahamas’ application to become a full member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been completed and this nation’s submission to the organisation made in October 2003. He added that the process to become a full member was likely to take between one to three years, although he hoped it would be closer to the former timeline.
On the FTAA, Mr Miller said talks to create the porposed 34 nation trading bloc among all Western Hemisphere nations, apart from Cuba, with the aim of creating a $13 trillion market for goods and services, were being hindered by the differnt objectives of talks participants, particularly co-chair Brazil.
Source: The Tribune
