The effort to unite the economies of the Americas into a single free trade area began at the Summit of the Americas, which was held in December 1994 in Miami. The Heads of State and Government of the 34 democracies in the region agreed to construct a Free Trade Area in which barriers to trade and investment will be progressively eliminated.

They agreed to complete negotiations towards this agreement by the year 2005, and to achieve substantial progress toward building the FTAA by 2010. A consensus on the agreement has been difficult to achieve, leading may regional politicians to speculate that the FTAA may never see the light of day.

However, in a CARICOM statement issued last week, Dr Bernal declared that the region is "actively positioning itself to re-shape the 'vision' of the FTAA, in accordance with Regional development goals and priorities."

The CARICOM statement went on to explain:

"The FTAA is an integral part of the strategic trade options being explored by the Region, in order to create sustained economic development in highly open economies. As such, CARICOM Countries continue to attach importance to the FTAA process and its objectives, despite the eighteen month hiatus and mounting expressions of doubt over the successful conclusion of negotiations.

"While the Miami Ministerial Declaration altered the original 'vision' of the FTAA, the objectives and philosophy which underpinned the vision of the thirty-four Heads of Government during the first Summit of the Americas in 1994 remain unchanged, and relevant to CARICOM Countries and their hemispheric partners.

"The establishment of a single economic space through the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) remains an essential part of the Region's preparatory process for the FTAA. CARICOM Countries view the FTAA as forming the broad platform for their trade integration in the Hemisphere, and therefore are keen on the expeditious resumption of formal negotiations.

"In a few weeks, the situation as regards troubled Americas-wide trade talks should become clearer. It is up to the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) Co-Chairs, in consultation with all parties involved in the process, to find ways to address and overcome the fundamental problems in the FTAA process highlighted in a recently published United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report, in order to put the negotiations back on track."