Free trade gaining momentum

South Florida CEO, Sept, 2004 by Jorge L. Arrizurieta

The effort to forge a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) began a decade ago with the intent to create a trade community twice the size of the European Union. Now, we are faced with deciding whether we prepare our economies for the challenge of a global economy or respond in fear by clinging to the policies of the past.

United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick recently expressed that we have an historic opportunity to expand trade, prosperity and democracy through hemispheric partnership and global competition. To expand the circle of political and economic liberty in the Americas, Latin Americans and US internationalists alike will need to advance along the courses mapped in Miami. The signs are hopeful that they will.

Representative Zoellick remarks that several hemispheric leaders share President George W. Bush's vision of a "world that trades in freedom." It is a global vision where the poorest and richest, the weakest and the strongest, are united in shared interests, common rules, and resurgent economic growth. Opening trade and integrating markets in the Americas are central to that vision. And if we work together, the Americas can become a proving ground for the long-term global ambition of a world without trade barriers.

The United States is working to open markets globally in the Doha World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. On July 31, WTO negotiations were moved ahead in Geneva with an agreement that puts the WTO on course to open markets for agriculture, goods and services. This could be a significant breakthrough in the free trade movement and should add continued momentum to the FTAA.

Florida is recognized by multinational companies as the center for global commerce: the place where the "rules of the game" are set, where cross-border deals are made and where the entire infrastructure supporting international commerce is already in place and rapidly expanding. This success enables Florida to gain market share in the hemisphere, both in terms of international trade flows and in foreign direct investment. By hosting the FTAA Secretariat, the entire state stands to benefit from much more than just the economic activities associated with the Secretariat itself. Florida will gain a plethora of institutions that invariably cluster around an international intergovernmental organization.

An Economist Intelligence Unit survey of key business executives in the Americas recently concluded that Miami is the city best suited to be the region's business capital. Indeed, Uruguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica have already backed Miami as the logical permanent Secretariat site of the FTAA. A number of business organizations and chambers of commerce throughout the hemisphere are also united behind the effort to win the site in Miami. When it comes to international business, no other site in the Western Hemisphere can match Miami's unique combination of a strategic geographic location, state-of-the-art infrastructure, multilingual workforce, and concentration of corporate and financial resources.

For Florida, the gains are clear. Respected economist and chairman of the Governor's Economic Council, J. Antonio Villamil, and Enterprise Florida Inc., the state's economic development partnership, estimate that the FTAA would mean 89,259 new jobs and a $3.2 billion annual payroll increase for Florida businesses. Florida's gross state product would grow annually by $13.5 billion and state and local governments would see an annual increase in fiscal revenues totaling $157 million.

Locating this multilateral body in our state would ensure that all nations maximize their potential to take full advantage of this new economy. For more than four decades, Latin America and the Caribbean have been meeting in Miami to do business for the region. This is not a new idea, a campaign or a decision by a few of us to promote our infrastructure, our resources and our commitment to the region. This is about our friends in the Western Hemisphere ratifying the commercial, cultural, educational and personal relationships that have united our state and community for decades.

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Free trade means not only more jobs for Florida, but trading partnerships that will continue to strengthen the institutional foundations of freedom and democracy throughout the hemisphere and open greater economic opportunities for all.

This fight is one of attrition, but it is making tremendous strides. I am often reminded this may not be a sprint to the finish line, but quite possibly a marathon. The important fact to keep in mind is that Miami is located at the forefront of this new economy, irrespective of when the decision is made. I am convinced it is not a question of if the FTAA will be signed and the Secretariat will be placed in Miami, but rather a question of when it will take place.