The FTAA is very important to the US economy...More news and resources can be hosted here.
The host city of the FTAA (the Secretariat) will benefit from being the epicenter/clearing house for trade disputes, treaties, etc for most of the trade of the North and South American Continents.
It is estimated that the economic impact of such a selection for the Florida economy would translate into approximately 89,000 direct and indirect jobs with a $13.6 billion impact on gross product. Additionally, the selection would boost Miami's image as a Latin American trade and business hub and attract additional corporations.

Posted on Tue, Aug. 02, 2005
Bush signs CAFTA free trade agreement

BY JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a hard-fought free trade pact with five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, saying the measure would ``advance peace and prosperity throughout the region.''
Full Story (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12284556.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp)

Didn't someone post a few months back that a South American city got the support of a majority of those countries as the host city over Miami? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Miami lost out on landing it. I hope I'm wrong, though.

Not sure if someone posted it or not, but it isn't true. No announcement has been made yet.
Here is an excerpt from the Summer 2005 newsletter, the lead story is
GUATEMALA AND THE DOMINCAN REPUBLIC ENDORSE MIAMI (http://www.floridaftaa.org/web/ampliacion.aspx?id=72&nid=27)

Miami’s dual endorsements set a historic precedent, propelling Miami a step further into securing the Permanent Secretariat of the FTAA. “President Berger’s decision to support Miami provides the latest major boost to our efforts in the hemisphere. This announcement paves the way for additional endorsements in the future and will clearly assist in continuing the FTAA negotiations in Central America and throughout,” said Jorge L. Arrizurieta, President of Florida FTAA, Inc.

The Dominican Republic and Guatemala join the following nations who have announced their support of Miami as the future home of the FTAA Permanent Secretariat: Uruguay, Honduras and Nicaragua. Both Colombia and Costa Rica have announced their support of Miami in the second round should the candidacies of Panama City and Port of Spain, respectively, not advance. Meanwhile, other nations have requested to keep their commitments confidential for the time being. This continuous progress has assured Miami as the natural frontrunner in the race for the FTAA Secretariat.

yea but i thought the ftaa was dead

yea but i thought the ftaa was deadI'm not saying that you don't think it's dead....but it is not dead! :)

7/27/2005 - The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), currently being negotiated by 34 democratically elected Western Hemisphere nations, is intended to be the most far-reaching trade agreement in history. It is an effort to unite the economies of the Western Hemisphere into a single free trade agreement comprising 800 million consumers with a combined gross domestic product of $14 trillion.

The DR - CAFTA that was ratified a couple days ago is a very positive development. Take up the cause with me Hatter! Let's get this thing done!

yeah im all for it to it makes a lot of sense from the perspective of a geographic and 'stable' (whatever you may take that to mean) location. the support from other countries helps alot and i think Miami has a good shot at when you consider the quantity of nations in the americas that already have stable/staple economic venues in SoFla. GO MIAMI ON THIS ONE !!!!!

Didn't someone post a few months back that a South American city got the support of a majority of those countries as the host city over Miami? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Miami lost out on landing it. I hope I'm wrong, though.

No South American city is even bidding for it.

Port of Spain, in Trinidad & Tobago, loves to claim they are going to get it, but no way in hell is it going to Port of Spain. They don't have the infastructure.

Good.

I want Miami to get it. And I want that big project built with proposed FTAA HQ included in it built as well. This will really add a lot of clout to Florida.

Yeah i guess is between Miami and Panama City. Miami has the infraestructure, no doubt, but Panama City has the Canal. I hope Miami gets it though.

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/11/21/daily7.html?jst=b_ln_hl

El Salvador endorses Miami for FTAA permanent secretariat

The president of El Salvador has endorsed Miami as the location for the permanent secretariat for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

Elias Antonio Saca said Central America has had a historic and very special relationship with Florida.

"The very important trade and cultural ties that unite Salvadoreans and this great city and state are among the many reasons why we believe Miami is the ideal location for the FTAA permanent secretariat," he said. "Now that DR-CAFTA is ratified and will go into effect in 2006, I look forward to the completion of the FTAA and to Miami becoming the permanent location where we meet to ensure the success of this new and inevitable economy for our hemisphere."

Florida FTAA, the private group working to locate the FTAA administration in Miami, and Enterprise Florida, with Gov. Jeb Bush, hosted a breakfast in Miami during which Saca discussed the ties between El Salvador and Florida, their trade relationship and his personal ties and affinities for Florida's people and community.

"El Salvador's endorsement is another example of the growing support for Miami's candidacy among the DR-CAFTA nations," Bush said. "I thank President Saca and the people of El Salvador for their friendship, confidence and support."

El Salvador is Florida's 15th largest trading partner in the world. The bilateral relationship was worth more than $1.9 billion in 2003.

Last year, $935 million in merchandise exports flowed to El Salvador from Florida. At the same time, $979 million in import goods from El Salvador came to Florida.

El Salvador's endorsement adds to a list of countries that have announced their support for Miami, including Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The Free Trade Area of the Americas is being negotiated by 34 democratically elected Western Hemisphere nations. The potential trade agreement is an effort to unite Western Hemisphere economies into a single free trade agreement.

If FTAA happens, it would include 800 million consumers with a $14 trillion combined gross domestic product.

It would be so great if Miami were to get this. When do they decide where to place the ftaa?

What kind of economic impact will this have on Miami? Would they build an office tower for this?

well it would mean more latin american,american and canadian companies would put regional hq's down here such as what happened with the brazilian bank espirito santo when they built there iconic office tower in anticipation of miami getting the ftaa and other reasons. also it would mean approx. thousands of high paying jobs and millions of dollars from increased trade going through our ports and other things.


although alot of companies are already based here more would come in, some might build new office space while others will occupy whats already vacant which is grat for the entire metro area

^^ sounds great hatter. Would be great for Miami

I hope it ends up being good for Central America. Does anyone know what standards will be forced on these countries as part of the agreement (e.g. minimum wages and the controlling of economic externalities like pollution)? Some of the most inequitable nations in the western hemisphere are in Central America. I just hope that it doesn't end up being a 'rich get richer, poor get poorer' situation for those countries. The poor are already poor enough in Central America. Anyhow this is good for Miami but Miami does fine as it is so I would really only support this if South America and Central America benefit.

I hear you DGM, the poor always get screwed.

Hatter...Espirto Santo is a Portugese Bank.
The impact of the FTAA secretariat to Miami would be very significant. Think of it like the impact of the World Bank to Bussels. Many very high paying diplomatic, legal, and financial services jobs would be added to a base that already exists here. Hotel rooms would host many more conferences and trade disputes arguments would be held in Miami Courts.

My take on this, info gathered from people in the know, is that Brazil is having a very hard time with the FTAA agreement and it is holding up a vote on the FTAA's existence, and therefore, where the secratariat will be located. After much discussion, the Bush Administration has taken the angle to sign several smaller agreements (DR-CAFTA and the Andean Agreement for example) to have some cohesion in trade. The thinking is, that eventually Brazil will cave in and negotiate. It looks like that stategy is working.

Yes, it will benefit the economies of Central and South American Countries. For one thing, contracts and property ownership will more open to foreign investment (this is my department). Currently, if you are interested in purchasing real property in Central or South America, you will have a very tough time getting a bank mortgage. This is becuase it is very difficult for a bank to forclose on property. These trade agreements are allowing for more enforceable rules for real property ownership. Meaning that banks will perceive/realize less risk and be willing to enter these markets. Rather than have to pay 100% cash, it should be possible to buy a nice Dominican resort property with 30% down very soon.
Foreign capital flowing in is usually good to locals whether it's a Central American country or if its' South Beach!!!

More on FTAA (http://www.floridaftaa.org/web/ftaa.aspx)

I hear you DGM, the poor always get screwed.Not always!!! I was poor once!!

I read a little of the fine print of the FTAA agreement. It turns out that the countries involved have to enforce the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This includes the freedom of association, minimum wages, etc... I havent found out what the punishment for not following these rules is but like Roark said these things will be settled here in miami so I'll try and be stay on top of things.

I was on a Delta flight last night coming in from Atlanta and read an article in their "SKY" magazine about everything that is going on in Atlanta. There was a blurb in there about Atlanta being the "host" city for the FTAA. I had heard about Atlanta being in the running for this. I am hoping that Miami is still ahead, but because of cost of living, etc... Atlanta has a very good shot. The cost of living there is much more reasonable than here.

I was on a Delta flight last night coming in from Atlanta and read an article in their "SKY" magazine about everything that is going on in Atlanta. There was a blurb in there about Atlanta being the "host" city for the FTAA. I had heard about Atlanta being in the running for this. I am hoping that Miami is still ahead, but because of cost of living, etc... Atlanta has a very good shot. The cost of living there is much more reasonable than here.
Man, why does Atlanta want the FTAA...? Isn't Coca-Cola and the Olympics enough for them? Geez!

The Free Trade Area of the Americas is the death of American sovereignty, and it will be an economic negative for Americans. It's about bringing up the poorer country, and lowering the richer countries so that everyone is on equal ground. In the end, it's a pretext for a global government.

I don't think this will bring down the rich countries. I think the rich countries will do a considerable amount of investing in the poorer countries and will profit soon after. Yea unskilled laborers might lose their jobs in America but the shifting of jobs from one industry to another is inevitable.

I was on a Delta flight last night coming in from Atlanta and read an article in their "SKY" magazine about everything that is going on in Atlanta. There was a blurb in there about Atlanta being the "host" city for the FTAA.No big surprise there. Put it in "Don't believe everything you read" or better yet, the "consider the source file". Delta Airlines is headquarted in Atlanta and their CEO, Gerald Grinnstein (sp?) is on the selection committee for Atlanta's bid to be the secretariat of the FTAA. So far, it is Miami, Houston, and Atlanta that are gunning for it for the US.
True, the cost of living is slightly higher in Miami, the types of jobs that will be created, and the purpose of the location won't consider cost of living very high on their rating scale.
Miami is without a doubt the frontrunner. We simply have everything that Atlanta has PLUS a larger bilingual proffessional service pool, and an ocean, etc. They probably didn't write much in the Delta magazine about Atlanta's seaport!
I really don't think that Atlanta has a shot.

I was on a Delta flight last night coming in from Atlanta and read an article in their "SKY" magazine about everything that is going on in Atlanta. There was a blurb in there about Atlanta being the "host" city for the FTAA. I had heard about Atlanta being in the running for this. I am hoping that Miami is still ahead, but because of cost of living, etc... Atlanta has a very good shot. The cost of living there is much more reasonable than here.

Delta Airlines is a major backer of Atlanta's bid, so of course you are going to see such an article. American Airlines and UPS (who is, ironically, Atlanta-based) are the two airlines that are major backers of Miami's bid.

The selection will come down to Miami and Panama City, with Port of Spain and Atlanta being the two long shots with a chance.

South Florida Business Journal - 9:07 AM EST Thursday
Ecuador voices support for FTAA Miami bid
Gov. Jeb Bush met with Ecuadorian president Alfredo Palacio, Wednesday, to discuss the United States-Andean free trade agreement and Miami's bid to become the permanent secretariat of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

"Ecuador would be in favor of Miami's candidacy when the FTAA advances," said Ecuadorian minister of foreign trade, Jorge Illingworth Guerrero, after the meeting.

Bush noted Ecuador is one of the state's largest trade partners and one of the United States' closest allies in the region. State numbers put Ecuador as Florida's 18th largest international trading partner with two-way trade valued at $1.2 billion in 2004, up 8.8 percent over 2003.

"Ecuador is helping to further solidify Florida's status as the 'Gateway of the Americas,'" Bush added. "The minister's message reaffirms the ties that unite Ecuador and Florida and will serve as great support for our bid."

Bush is leading a Florida business development mission of nearly 30 business and government leaders to Quito, Ecuador. Enterprise Florida organized the mission, which it jointly sponsored with Florida FTAA.

Its next stop will be Thursday in Lima, Peru. There, the delegation has meetings scheduled with President Alejandro Toledo and other local leaders.

i actually had andres oppenheimer come to my class yest... talked about how chavez and castro suck and all latin america has to approve the ftaa... was quite bad ass...

Posted on Thu, Jan. 19, 2006
Peru endorsed Miami as site of free trade pact secretariatBy TYLER BRIDGEStbridges@miamiherald.comLIMA - President Alejandro Toledo on Thursday endorsed Miami as the headquarters for a proposed free trade secretariat as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush completed a two-day trade visit to Ecuador and Peru.
Bush's main goals on the trip were winning the support of Toledo and Ecuadorean President Alfredo Palacio for Miami, and promoting Florida trade and investment.
''It's the best location,'' Toledo said during a news conference Thursday, ``it has a strong economy and it has strong economic ties with the region.''
In an earlier speech, Toledo called Florida ``the port of entry for Latin America in the United States.''
Palacio on Wednesday gave a more qualified expression of support for Miami.
Efforts to create the hemispheric-wide trade agreement have stalled with opposition from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The other countries that have voiced support for making Miami the administrative hub of the Free Trade Area of the Americas include Uruguay, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Peru was the 15th country that Bush has visited during his seven years in office as governor.
Bush found an enthusiastic Toledo in his call for free trade throughout Latin America.
Peru under Toledo recently signed a free trade agreement with the United States that will take effect upon ratification by the congresses of both countries.

the good news is that about 80% of Central/South American countries are voicing support for the FTAA. The bad news is they only represent about 8% of that same economic zone. Until either Brazil or Argentina sign on this treaty will not be very meaningful. However, Miami will continue to see lots of trade and investment from the business class in those countries even though their governments are not friendly, in fact the further left the governments go the more investors will come north and spend money in Miami! :laugh:

can it be pursued without brazil argentina and venezuela and then they can join later if they feel like it?

it would be like the European Union without Germany, France and England

i agree with bitgrove, you cannot call it a free trade "zone" if over 80% of that "zone's" total economy does not participate.
all you have right now are direct free trade agreements with very small individual countries. i think if gov. bush can get one of the big boys (brasil or argentina) to break rank with the new commie block then it will force the other moderates to join in. by moderates i mean everyone except Cuba and Venezuela...

spanish blood is thicker then the american dollars bush wants to throw there way.... the spanish commie block is beginning to look like the new norm....

speaking of communism how about the us becomming more like china where everything you search for on the internets is viewed by the government...
looks like more commie bullshit from that republican evildoers but luckily this term is almost over...

will this term go out with one big bang...another terrorist attack....lets cross our fingers that all the spying that the government has been doing on us americans gives him a lead on the next bombing which will take place soon....

we arent any safer then we where that day of sept 11 2001....

as for the spanish commie block its about time the spanish stuck together...

can it be pursued without brazil argentina and venezuela and then they can join later if they feel like it?That's great thinking! You are right on the money, and in fact, President Bush has been pursuing that angle for well over 4 years. Remember the FTAA riots in Miami some years ago? It was about that time that Brazil decided to be a bit obstinate about some agricultural issues (and not too surprisingly) the Fanjul family (sugar) was lobbying to block Brazilian importation of sugar.
Wisely, the Bush administration has been pursuing a policy to sign smaller regional trade agreements that will effectively isolate Brazil until they join the bandwagon!
There is major significance in the signing of the DR-CAFTA agreement and the Andean trade block agreement. Most countries are playing ball. The 8 years of the previous administration did start the talk, but it is clear that this Presidential adminstration is really implementing and walking the walk.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-46forum30jan30,0,2282366.story
FTAA HEADQUARTERS
Support for Miami growing
By Jorge L. Arrizurieta

January 30, 2006

Recent trade developments in the Americas continue to renew prospects for a hemisphere-wide trade agreement in some fashion, even as observers point to the possibility this year that leftist political movements may come to power in a handful of Latin American nations.

Enthusiasm for stronger trading partnerships was evident when Gov. Jeb Bush recently secured endorsements from Peru and Ecuador that Miami would be their preferred site for the Permanent Secretariat of a Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Miami "is the best placed location geographically," said Peru's President Alejandro Toledo. "Our decision is to support the FTAA there, where it makes the most sense."

Toledo's continued emphasis on opening Peru's economy is evident with the just-completed bilateral agreement with the United States. This -- coupled with the exemplary leadership of Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who has led Peru to an impressive 52 consecutive months of economic growth -- has set the stage for a continued strong economy. Elections to succeed Toledo will be held this April and it will be difficult for the next leader to turn Peru's back on the tremendous progress already made. For instance, in 2004, two-way trade between Florida and Peru alone equaled about $1.2 billion.
More... (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-46forum30jan30,0,2282366.story)