A potpourri of bilateral commerce deals invades the hemisphere.

Gabriela Perdomo - It was once a dream that the Americas would become a territory where goods would flow freely from the Argentinean Patagonia to the northernmost point of Alaska. Since the first meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in 1994, governments have slowly drifted apart from the ambitious goal and have embarked instead in bilateral or sub-regional ventures. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) including Mexico, the United States and Canada, was as far as the hemispherical venture got.

Since the Democratic Party—usually skeptical on free trade—took control of the U.S. Congress late last year, there have been warnings on the future of commerce in the Americas. But contrary to what many would think, the U.S. is not the only country interested in maintaining open trade in the region, and even if the Democrats end up blocking proposed deals, other nations will continue to seek new agreements in different frontiers.

The United States has been so far a leader in seeking deal after deal, and public opinion has been mostly supportive of these initiatives. As of now, a major pact known as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which includes five Central American nations—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua—plus the Dominican Republic and the U.S., is almost finalized, only waiting for Costa Ricans to endorse the treaty in a nationwide referendum later this year.

The U.S. Congress has yet to ratify deals with Peru, Panama and Colombia. The latter is the only one that has been put on hold because of the Democrats' concerns on the Colombian government's human rights record. Still, it is not guaranteed that the commerce agreements will be approved by the American legislative branch before the end of 2007.

But this should not be a major concern for open-trade supporters. Other countries have reached agreements with neighbours and regional allies. Chile, for instance, has recently finalized free trade commitments with Colombia and Peru. The Mercosur alliance between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay (Venezuela remains a maybe) is increasingly focused on free trade, and other alliances like the Andean Community of Nations, encompassing Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and now Chile, have important concessions on trade as well.

Latin Americans in general seem to have a positive attitude towards free trade, not without a sense of disbelief. In Panama, a Dichter & Neira poll recently revealed 38.6 per cent of respondents think a fresh FTA with the U.S. will help decrease poverty. Costa Ricans, who will have their say on CAFTA in October, are mostly in favour of the deal. A CID-Gallup poll in May showed 45 per cent of respondents would back the treaty with their vote. All other parties involved in the CAFTA have ratified it already, with no major opposition in their own countries.

The last available poll for Colombia was conducted in February by YanHaas. 53.6 per cent of respondents supported the FTA with the U.S. back then, which has been ratified by the national Congress already. This is probably the only deal that will not see a green light before 2008.

Even though a Democratic-led Congress might be seen as an obstacle for free trade enthusiasts in the Americas, integration with the north is also not off the table yet. Canada has taken a surprising initiative this month to reach out to a region not usually at the top of its agenda. Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper personally took to Colombia, Chile, Barbados and Haiti, and later announced Canada would start free trade talks with Colombia and Peru, and would expand an existing agreement with Chile.

The hemisphere might not have reached the prototypical dream of free trade for all, but open markets are still pushing their way throughout the continent. For better or worse, the U.S. is not the only driving force in the region anymore when it comes to trade initiatives.

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