Ecuador seeks accord before FTAA
Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutiérrez wants to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the United States and says he likes the idea of a single hemispheric currency.
Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutiérrez said Tuesday that he wanted to start bilateral talks with the United States for a free-trade agreement ahead of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
( BY CHRISTINA HOAG, choag@herald.com, 10/29/2003 08:08 AM EST)

U.S. urges better share in progress for the poor
At The Herald's Americas Conference, the White House's envoy to Latin America says leaders must allow more people to participate in democracy.
Taking up the standard for the region's poor, the White House's chief envoy to Latin America said leaders must take steps to allow more people to participate in democracy and economic progress.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/29/2003 08:07 AM EST)

Farm subsidies seen as central to FTAA
Striking a deal on an FTAA pact will hinge on the issue of agricultural subsidies, several trade analysts said Tuesday at the Americas Conference.
Only if the United States makes major concessions on the politically charged issue of farm subsidies will the Western Hemisphere be able to craft a Free Trade Area of the Americas, several leading regional trade analysts agreed Tuesday.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/29/2003 08:05 AM EST)

Key players to discuss free trade, relations at Americas conference
Top hemispheric officials are attending The Herald-sponsored gathering, which begins today in Coral Gables.
Three presidents of Latin American countries and Washington's top hemispheric officials are guests of honor at The Herald's Americas Conference, which kicks off today at The Biltmore in Coral Gables.
( BY CHRISTINA HOAG, choag@herald.com, 10/28/2003 08:12 AM EST)

Free trade pact not a boon for women, panel warns
A panel of University of Miami academics warned Monday that a proposed hemisphere-wide free trade agreement could be harmful for Latin American women because they could end up working in miserable conditions and for minimum pay.
( BY ALEJANDRO LANDES, alandes@herald.com, 10/28/2003 08:12 AM EST)

Official counts reasons to pick Miami for FTAA's home
Geography, diversity and communications boost Miami's bid to be the permanent home for the FTAA secretariat, the Beacon Council CEO says.
Beacon Council head makes Miami's case Beacon Council President and Chief Executive Frank Nero has just a few words to explain why Miami should be chosen as the home for a possible Free Trade Area of the Americas.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/28/2003 08:09 AM EST)

Cobb leads race against rival sites
As head of two trade groups, Chuck Cobb blends a career in business with strong convictions on Florida and free trade.
Charles E. Cobb Jr. feels so passionate about trade that over the past 12 years, he has given away $120,000 in cash to reward those who do a good job of promoting it.
( BY CHRISTINA HOAG, choag@herald.com, 10/26/2003 08:17 AM EST)

Andres Oppenheimer
A smile and coffee could help trade quest
Will Miami be the official capital of the Americas? Will it win its ongoing battle with Atlanta, Panama, Mexico's Puebla, and Trinidad and Tobago's Port-of-Spain to become the headquarters of a planned hemispherewide free-trade zone?
( 10/26/2003 08:17 AM EST)

TRADE HEADQUARTERS BATTLE
Miami's bid for trade headquarters puts image on the line
For decades, Miami has touted itself as the capital of Latin America. Now city leaders finally see a chance to make the title official - or, they fear, officially misplaced.
( BY DOUGLAS HANKS III, dhanks@herald.com, 10/26/2003 08:15 AM EST)

Smaller countries seek consideration
Caribbean economies are so small they need special arrangements in any trade agreements, their leaders contend.
The 15 countries of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, account for only 13 million of the 800 million consumers in what is envisioned as becoming the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005.
( BY DON BOHNING, Special to The Herald, 10/26/2003 08:14 AM EST)

Police working on plan to keep traffic moving
Miami police are preparing for tie-ups and detours downtown during the international free trade meeting in November.
Next month's free trade summit in downtown Miami will probably snarl traffic, but police say they will work to keep the area open for business as much as possible.
( By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH, snesmith@herald.com, 10/24/2003 07:20 AM EST)

Miami businesses, workers fear impact of the summit
Disruptions and protests are expected in Miami for the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit Nov. 20 and 21. Many downtown business owners are worried.
Bill Ullman's blood is boiling over the possibility that he may not be able to get to his downtown Miami law office during next month's free trade summit.
( BY ELAINE WALKER, ewalker@herald.com, 10/24/2003 07:19 AM EST)

Rules for protests get first approval
Miami commissioners give a preliminary OK to a new law designed to prevent violence at the upcoming trade talks.
A 12-foot ''alligator'' made of cloth and PVC tubes and piloted by six protesters paraded at Miami City Hall on Thursday to show commissioners what kinds of props would be banned if the commission approved a new law designed to control demonstrations at the upcoming free trade meeting.
( BY OSCAR CORRAL, ocorral@herald.com, 10/24/2003 07:19 AM EST)

Anti-protest law before FTAA meeting draws fire
The Miami City Commission plans to vote on a proposal banning certain items at expected protests at next month's free-trade meeting, riling civil libertarians.
More than 1,000 delegates from 34 countries will converge at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami next month for a much-anticipated trade summit that will be closely watched throughout the world.
( By CAROLYN SALAZAR, csalazar@herald.com, 10/21/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Brazil balks over scale of U.S.-backed plan
The Miami FTAA talks are still scheduled for November, but the impasse hints at what may happen here.
Brazil and the U.S. are at loggerheads again PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- High-level trade talks for the Western Hemisphere ended in a standoff Friday, with Washington and Brazil openly disagreeing over the scope of a proposed free-trade accord.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/04/2003 02:01 AM EST)

New talks solve few issues, beget more
Though not a second Cancún, the latest ministers' meeting in Trinidad further cements the U.S.-Brazil stalemate.
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- Western hemispheric trade talks inching along this week are not a Cancún sequel, but Brazil and the United States dug in their heels over some of the same divisive issues that caused recent global trade negotiations to collapse.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/03/2003 02:01 AM EST)

New push for a hemispheric accord
The U.S. urges Mercosur to do what's needed to reach agreement on the future of Latin American commerce.
America's top trade official called Tuesday on Brazil and its Mercosur partners to move ahead with full trade liberalization or a step-by-step process.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 10/01/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Brazil, U.S. split FTAA talks in Miami
The last scheduled FTAA negotiations before Miami are shaping up as a struggle over whose agenda will prevail.
Brazil and the United States appear headed for a showdown over the scope of a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, according to trade negotiators attending a preliminary meeting this week in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 09/30/2003 02:01 AM EST)

INTERNATIONAL
Local fund-raisers push for FTAA site
Not-for-profit Florida FTAA is raising private donations and public funds to extend its reach, thanks in part to a couple of local business executives who volunteered as lead arm twisters.
( BY MIKE SEEMUTH, Special to The Herald, 09/22/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Pushing for a Miami trade base
JORGE ARRIZURIETA HAS ALWAYS GRAVITATED TOWARD PUBLIC SERVICE
Traces of his career are on the walls of Jorge Arrizurieta's office: Florida Marlins baseball memorabilia, an official seal he received as a U.S. presidential appointee, photos showing him in the company of Republican Party icons.
( BY MIKE SEEMUTH, Special to The Herald, 09/22/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Citrus, sugar industries cast eye toward Miami
At first glance, the collapse of global trade talks in Cancún, Mexico, would seem like good news for Florida's citrus and sugar interests - key state industries that face major regional competition.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com , 09/19/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Miami gets backing as free trade base
Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle on Wednesday became the first president of a Latin American or Caribbean country to officially back Miami as the site for the headquarters of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.
( BY CHRISTINA HOAG, choag@herald.com , 09/18/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Bush courts FTAA support
The governor is in the Caribbean nation to trumpet Miami's bid to become the permanent secretariat.
Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development group, has not always had the best timing. Last year, the public-private partnership's trade mission to Spain came as the war with Iraq was looming. Its 2001 trip to Argentina came three years into a recession there. Now, on the third day of a four-day mission here, 150-some vendors from Florida hoping to strike a deal find a country whose currency, the peso, has shrunk in value by one-third.
( BY JONI JAMES, jjames@herald.com, 09/17/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Worries over FTAA post-WTO
Miami hosts trade ministers in November, but the collapse of talks in Cancún casts a long shadow over the meetings.
Failed world trade talks in Mexico dashed the free trade community's hopes for an early victory on global trade. Now, the same volatile issues -- and Brazil's emergence at the forefront of developing world demands -- are certain to define the November gathering of hemispheric trade ministers in Miami to discuss the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com, 09/16/2003 02:01 AM EST)

Talks collapse as countries clash on issues
Global trade talks collapsed Sunday as poor countries balked at proposals by rich nations that would make it easier for corporations to do business around the globe, while refusing to cut agricultural subsidies for farmers in wealthy countries.
( BY JANE BUSSEY, jbussey@herald.com , 09/15/2003 10:22 AM EST)

Brazil seeking stronger ties
Trade unity top issue for Lula
Trying to resist U.S. influence in Latin America and fulfill a dream of bringing the region's countries together, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been stepping up his efforts to strengthen the Mercosur trading bloc and the alliance now engaged in free-trade talks with the United States.
( BY ANDREW DOWNIE, Special to The Herald, 09/13/2003 02:01 AM EST)