FTAA Hemispheric Cooperation Program

Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Reprentative Mary Ryckman and Dr. José Manuel Salazar of the Organization of American States (OAS) joined Carnegie's Trade, Equity, and Development project for a public discussion of the FTAA Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP). This trade capacity building program was endorsed by the 7th Meeting of FTAA Ministers and is intended to help the hemisphere's small and developing countries benefit more fully from the FTAA.

Ms. Ryckman and Dr. Salazar presented the HCP as a demand-driven effort to match identified trade capacity building needs with coordinated donor resources, especially to provide assistance in the areas of: (1) participation in negotiations, (2) implementation of FTAA commitments, and (3) economic adjustment relating to the FTAA and economic integration. To participate in the HCP, each developing country will prepare - with assistance available from USAID and the FTAA Tripartite Committee - a national trade capacity building strategy clarifying its needs. Roundtables will then bring governments together with both public and private sector donors to generate approaches and resources to meet identified needs. Ms. Ryckman and Dr. Salazar recognized the challenge of such effective donor coordination, and noted that the HCP would draw upon both financial and non-financial support. Ms. Ryckman pointed out that President Bush will seek to increase U.S. trade capacity building assistance for the region to $140 million in FY 2003; in addition, she agreed that Latin American governments and civil society organizations which have developed greater institutional capacity should be encouraged to contribute to the HCP by sharing their expertise with other countries in the region.

A number of participants in the discussion, however, expressed concern over which members of civil society, representing which interests, will be either included or marginalized within the Hemispheric Cooperation Program. For example, several participants voiced misgivings about the HCP's capacity to promote adequate protection for the environment, workers rights, and the interests of poor and indigenous people. Ms. Ryckman emphasized that the development of national HCP strategies will remain a dynamic process driven by Latin American governments. She acknowledged that an important indicator will be the completion of the national strategies being prepared by Central American governments, and expressed her hope to participate in another discussion of the Hemispheric Cooperation Program after the public release of these first trade capacity building plans.

Event summary by Vanessa Ulmer, Junior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace