The Voice of America maintained that the reason why talks were being postponed Thursday 1 April was because “of differences over farm subsidies.” Contrast this with Xinhua News Agency that went into more detail pointing to a US fault: “Argentine International Trade Secretary Martin Redrado told a press conference that negotiations remained stalled due to the US “ambiguity” on the issue of agriculture…”

Especially noteworthy about what is proving to be abortive FTAA discussions are the following:

Having said that, Xinhua News maintains that there was a two-day meeting that included delegates from MERCOSUR countries; NAFTA countries; Costa Rica; Chile; Ecuador; Venezuela; and [even] CARICOM “in an effort to break the [stalemate over] free trade negotiations.”

The article over the FTAA, entitled FTAA ’05 deadline in jeopardy, penned by Jane Bussey of the Miami Herald newspaper was a long article that alluded to the very idea that the year-end deadline would be jeopardized.

To boot, Bussey hinted at “deepening discord” among the group, arguing that discussions had been “slow”. She revealed that the next meeting may be held sometime in May after the Puebla meeting slated for 22-23 April.

One difference between this article and the latter two was the fact that it included a perspective from civil society. This time, it came by the name of Lori Wallach, known by many in the NGO community for her progressive views on the WTO and the fight against neoliberalism. She is described by Bussey as “a free-trade opponent”, but credits her for being “director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch” in Washington.

What the US wants is what the US usually gets-but maybe, just this time, they won’t because as much as the haggling by negotiators alike continue, MERCOSUR is inveterate in its stance: as long as the US does not put an end to price supports “and other farm subsidies”, negotiations will continue to be deadlocked.

The article maintains Japan needs “to break down trade barriers to keep going with the times.” The article suggests that the reason for these developments stems from Japan’s desire, by any means necessary, to frustrate China’s plans of establishing FTAs within the core of the South East Asian countries. Looks like Japan doesn’t want to “miss the bus”. Besides, it’s got its farmers to think about too.

The article maintains that the Austrians believe Pakistan is “fast emerging as a new market in the region.” And so, it’s only good for TNCs to want to operate there-as logic would dictate. A Pakistani official argued that Austria “could serve as one…of the gateways for Pakistani business entrepeurners to enter the Eastern flank of the European Union.”

In order to mollify the Russians, the EU have promised a reduction in average duties--from 9 percent to 4 percent. However, the EU is also keeping a keen eye on Russia, and has promised to be swift in slapping sanctions "if the accord were not extended unconditionally". Another final point has to do with Russia's entry into the WTO, which the EU is monitoring. The EU basically wants Russia "to stop regulating gas prices and split Gazprom's $16 billion export market before it joins the WTO." Swell.

According to the article, it looks like despite these FTAs, Mexico hasn't become any richer--the gap has certainly widened. With an economy that has not been performing very well, it beggars belief why less consideration has been given to the very serious problems of the poor. If FTAs have done anything, they have exposed the cleavages that were endemic in the country--not reduced them.

Consumers have not had it any better than before the FTAs, with prices having gone higher than usual. The current minimum wage in Mexico is 46 pesos a day, or $4.20, but rose only a peso in the last year. What is to blame then isn't free trade alone (opening the economy to a number of FTAs has a seriously adverse effect on the economy as it opens "the door to tough international competition". To boot, these FTAs are erroneously seen as a conduit to foreign investment, but prove to be only part of a solution to increased investment.

The long ans short of the article is that FTAs will prove to be beneficial if--and only if--it is better negotiated. Implicit in this, one would suppose, is the need for careful consideration rather than a rush to sign them like they're going to run away if you don't catch them on time...(!!)

To this end, the communiqué praises the 15-member ECOWAS group for having handled, under the chairmanship of the Ghanaian incumbent President John Kufuor, the situation with tact. It "commends [ECOWAS] for its tireless efforts to promote lasting reconciliation in Côte d'Ivoire and reiterates AU's support for those efforts". It also calls on UN and sub-regional processes--i.e. further ECOWAS efforts--to be sustained in order to bring peace and stability to the troubled country.

The story so far: The meeting had to take place on 29-30 March. Suddenly, Tunisia said "sorry"; Egypt stepped in, and proposed 16 April latest to hold the summit. Anger ensued, and acrimonies set in. RegionsWatch went to a different source for more on this this time--the francophone Courrier International, which featured information , and a press review on Wednesday 31 March as its lead story.

If the putative meeting had taken place, members of the League would have wanted to discuss how to turn the Arab League into something modelled on the EU. Haven't they been listening? Academic Andrew Hurrell maintains the EU is not the only region to be emulated. To read more about this, please check RegionsWatch's page on the theory behind regional trade here.

Having said that, they believe that in reforming the League to that of one like the EU, that would be "tangible proof of Arab unity." CourrierInternational.com, however, maintains that its cancellation doesn't signify gloom either. To be frank, though, what really did shake the credibility of the Arab League, the article maintains, was the 1991 Gulf War, including the League's pussyfooting--if any action at all--on Iraq's aggression towards Kuwait. That the League failed to respond to the crisis did not--and has not--augur(ed) well for a consolidation of credibility which it so desperately needs.

To not make too much of what is, in effect, an unfortunate incident that has led to a lot of acrimony, some quarters of the Arab League have claimed that the reason why it was cancelled is because other quarters do not want to see "or discuss reforms and democracy".

In any event, the long and short is that Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), after having created a task force, has "called for public submissions and comment on a free trade treaty with China." The study will be completed by October 2005. Wow. This is what RegionsWatch would like to refer to as a model of acccountability in the context of its mantra "Making Regions Accountable".

[Posted:Monday 29 March @ 4.58pm EST]

*This page is under heavy construction. If you have any queries, do not hesitate to get in touch -- see left hand side of screen. Thanks*--Ekb