The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is the goal of a process initiated in December 1994, at the first Summit of the Americas, involving 34 Heads of State of the Western Hemisphere. A Free Trade Area of the Americas is schedule to be finished by 2005, eliminating trade and investment barriers on virtually all goods and services traded by member countries, reducing prices for consumers and creating new markets for producers throughout the hemisphere. The opposition to FTAA believe free trade will jeopardize the integrity of non-industrialized and unique economies, ecologically significant regions, democracy and local citizen control, and communities of people who do not possess contemporary forms of wealth, opening them up to the pillaging by capitalist interests. They believe that free trade is organized, supported and likely only benefits financial capital, and not the people. Thanks to those who have submitted to this category, and to websites for linking to it: http://www.noront.net/scsj/Issues/FTAA/ftaa_links.htm http://wtoaction.org/phpLinks/index.php?ParentID=28 http://www.geocities.com/ericsquire/ftaa.htm
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