The Summit of the Americas: implementation work program - Thomas F. McLarty III, Counselor to the President and Secretary of State for the Summit of the Americas, May 23, 1995 - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, May 29, 1995

Building on our successes, the foreign ministers of the hemisphere plan to issue a report in Haiti which details significant summit-related actions that individual governments have taken to date. The report also sets forth a framework for future efforts. It is specific and clear; we have moved the process forward. Included in this report will be specific actions taken on trade, crime prevention, sustainable development, and the reinvigorization of the inter-American system. Progress is seldom easy. There have been and will continue to be problems and complications, but we have achieved a solid beginning after the summit meeting in Miami.

Trade

We have made progress in promoting prosperity hemisphere-wide. Recognizing the importance of open markets, free trade, and the participation of the private sector to broad-based economic prosperity, our leaders in Miami called for negotiation of a free trade area of the Americas by 2005. Ambassador Kantor has said, "I want to clearly state that we are committed to pursuing the goal." Trade ministers in the hemisphere have taken up this challenge, committing themselves to two ministerials in the next 10 months. The first one, which will take place in Denver June 30 under Ambassador Kantor's leadership, will discuss steps to be taken as we begin to lay a foundation upon which negotiations ca later proceed; the second will occur in March 1996. The Denver ministerial in June will be followed immediately by the Trade and Commerce Forum - hosted by Ambassador Kantor and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown - a cooperative public and private effort designed to expand hemispheric economic activity.

As you have now heard from Ambassador Barshefsky and others, are also moving ahead with discussions to admit Chile into the NAFTA, the next critical step of our commitment to regional openness and shared prosperity. We want to move ahead quickly with Chile's accession to the NAFTA to send a positive signal to our hemispheric partners at a critical juncture. President Bush noted this when he recently spoke in Santiago. As Congressman Lee Hamilton has argued, in the end trade is good because it creates markets for the United States and bolsters the economies and stability of the countries we trade with. That is the kind of common-sense approach we seek.

General fast-track hearings have already begun, and timely action by Congress is essential. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently wrote that if we do not seize the opportunities now facing us, there is a real danger the United States will become marginalized - a bystander in our own hemisphere. In reaching out to others, we directly help ourselves. At bottom, we seek a closer economic relationship with our neighbors, based on shared values and mutual objectives, in order to promote what is clearly in the interests of our own citizens.

Crime Prevention

We are also taking a tough stand against crime. Support is growing for the Mexico-United States draft on counter-narcotics strategy for the 21st century, which offers a comprehensive plan to eradicate the illegal narcotics trade hemisphere-wide. Already, half the countries in the hemisphere support this strategy. Hemispheric experts on money laundering met in April to shape an agreement on eliminating this activity; other meetings are scheduled in June to put the final touches on the accord. Additionally, the United States plans to increase its drag control budget to almost $15 billion, more than 36% of which will be spent for demand reduction.