United States regional integration initiatives
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Transcript of United States regional integration initiatives
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSOF THE CARIBBEAN
USA integration initiatives
Dr. Jacqueline LAGUARDIA MARTINEZ
Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN)
Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (ALCA)
USA integration initiatives
The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994
Members: Canada, Mexico and the United States
Major controversy: Agriculture
U.S. government subsidies to the corn sector jeopardizes Mexican farms and the country's food self-sufficiency.
NAFTA is the force responsible for depressing the incomes of poor corn farmers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t85sGekgH7o
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Zapatista Army of National Liberation• The preparations for NAFTA included the cancellation of
Article 27 of Mexico's constitution, that establishes that Indian communal landholdings were protected from sale or privatization (this barrier to investment was incompatible with NAFTA)
• With the removal of Article 27, Indian farmers feared the loss of their remaining lands and also feared cheap imports (substitutes) from the US.
• The EZLN declared war on the Mexican state on January 1, 1994, the day NAFTA came into force
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HAw8vqczJw
• Initiative from the USA that tried to expand the NAFTA Agreement to the rest of the region
• Launched at the Summit of the Americas in Miami on December 11, 1994
• Opposing the proposal were Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominica and Nicaragua (ALBA), and Mercosur Member States
• Discussions have faltered over similar points as the Doha Development Round of WTO talks: developed nations seek expanded trade in services and increased intellectual property rights, while less developed nations seek an end to agricultural subsidies and free trade in agricultural goods
• End of the project in the 4th Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata (Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela) frontally rejected the USA proposal that was supported by Canada, Mexico, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
Solution: Free Trade Agreement
Benefits expected:
• From the US: economics and geopolitics (trade, investments and intellectual rights)
• From the Latin America and the Caribbean: access to the US market, access to technologies, attract FDI
FTA
• 2004: United States - Chile Free Trade Agreement
• 2006: DR-CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement), excludes Panama
• 2009: United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
• 2011: United States - Panama Free Trade Agreement
• 2012: Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
• Trade agreement that is presently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States
• Talks started in July 2013• On top of cutting tariffs across all sectors, the EU and the
US want to tackle barriers behind the customs border – such as differences in technical regulations, standards and approval procedures
• The TTIP negotiations will also look at opening both markets for services, investment and public procurement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMuFXexHU6w
Puebla Panama Plan (PPP) in 2001Mesoamerica Project
• 2008• Members (10): Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic• Goal: To promote the regional integration and development of the nine
southern states of Mexico (Puebla, Guerrero, Veracruz) with all of Central America, Colombia and the Dominican Republic
• Heavy investment on infrastructure (transport, energy, security and biodiversity)
• Adherence to a neoliberal model of development: privatization of land (including farmland), water and public services
• Critics: Constructions are destroying fragile rain forests and displacing indigenous peoples who have little voice in the Project
• The “Castañeda Doctrine”: The Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project / PPP should be used as a counterpart to Hugo Chávez's leadership of left-wing policies in Latin America
Differences between ALBA-TCP and Neoliberal integration schemes
1. Key principles are “complementarity, as an alternative to competition; solidarity as opposed to domination; cooperation as a replacement for exploitation; and respect for sovereignty rather than corporate rule”.2. Financial cooperation is an integral and major element3. Social cooperation is an integral and major element4. “A la carte” participation and “negotiated flexibility” rather than Single Undertaking. Each member accedes on individually negotiated terms and its participation in trade and ALBA projects is negotiated on a case-by-case basis.5. Trade can be a means of settlement of financial and/or social cooperation6. Asymmetrical and non-reciprocal market access in favour of smaller and/or weaker member economies7. Tariff protection of infant industries allowed8. Provision for counter-trade arrangements; i.e. direct product exchanges.9. Creation of the „sucre‟, an accounting currency unit used to value bilateral and multilateral trade among the members and to settle balances. In effect, this permits multilateral counter-trade. Participation is not mandatory for members.10. Recognition of the role of the state in development and in economic regulation
11. Public procurement as an instrument of national economic development 12. Protection of citizens‟ rights to basic social services (i.e. from privatisation and commercialisation) 13. Protection of labour rights 14. Protection of the rights of indigenous people 15. Protection of “Mother Earth” (the environment) 16. Rights to development and health take precedence over intellectual and industrial property rights 17. Privileging of production for the national market and satisfaction of the needs of the population 18. Privileging of communal and cooperative enterprises and of small and medium enterprises 19. Submission of foreign investors to national law in Dispute Resolution 20. Rapid responsiveness and creativity in developing new programmes; e.g. ALBA Food Security Initiative and ALBA Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund 21. Formation of Grandnational Enterprises— multi-country state-to-state joint ventures for dedicated purposes in several areas22. Political solidarity on threats to member states (such as the U.S. embargo on Cuba, the Honduras coup of 2009, the Colombia-U.S. bases agreement of 2009, and the attempted coup in Ecuador in 2010). Member countries are free to abstain or reserve their position. Source: Norman Girvan, Is ALBA a New Model of Integration? Reflections on the CARICOM Experience