An independent legislator in Trinidad and Tobago said the failure of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation negotiations last month provides an opportunity for reviving the negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The talks were designed to open global markets for agricultural and manufactured goods as well as cross-border services.

But after a marathon nine-day session, trade ministers failed to agree to trade-offs that would make a Doha deal palatable to leading economies, with India and the United States unable to resolve their differences over barriers to farm markets.

Signalled commitment

In a statement issued in Trinidad, Independent Senator Gail Merhair said Brazil and the United States had signalled their commitment to concluding the FTAA negotiations based on the outcome of the Doha Round that has now failed.

"This moment presents itself as the opportunity for the revival of the FTAA since the Miami trade negotiations of 2003, which preceded the Fourth Summit of the Americas in 2005," Merhair said.

"The reality is that economic and trade negotiations are not just an option, but an imperative for economic survival and development for major economic partners and smaller nations, such as Trinidad and Tobago."

Negotiations

The legislator said that with the resumption of negotiations at the ministerial level, it is possible that a workable plan of action can be presented and adopted at the Fifth Summit of the Americas to be held in Port-of-Spain in April next year.

"The challenge will be to achieve a balanced FTAA that takes into account the wide range of differences in the level of development and the size of the economies in the hemisphere, with a view to becoming an important instrument in increasing reciprocal trade between Latin America and the Caribbean states as, well as access to the North American markets," said Merhair.

New life

"The FTAA is set to be given new life. The governments of the hemisphere must now ensure that negotiations proceed apace with the ultimate objective being the strengthening of democracy, creation of prosperity and realisation of the human potential."

Trinidad and Tobago has been campaigning to have the FTAA headquartered in its capital, Port of Spain.