Transparency Letter And List Of Signatories |
Mr. Roberto Betacourt Ruales Vice Minister of Foreign Relations of Ecuador Chair, FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee Dear Mr. Betancourt: We write to you as representatives of civil-society organizations throughout the Americas concerned about the potential impacts of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on our respective societies, economies and environments. We urge you to take steps to increase the transparency of the FTAA negotiations so that there can be a true public debate on the proposed accord. We welcomed the publication of the draft FTAA text in July 2001, as well as the additional information provided by some governments. Many of us have been studying that information with great interest and have discussed our concerns with our governments and peoples. We have found it very difficult, however, to arrive at definitive conclusions on the meaning of the text because in most cases there are various competing bracketed proposals on any given issue. We do understand that these issues are still being discussed in the negotiations, but the fact that the bracketed proposals do not identify which countries have presented the various proposals makes it impossible for us to know which proposals our respective governments support and therefore greatly undermine our efforts to engage in an informed debate. We urge you to publish the current draft of the FTAA text, with notes identifying the countries making or supporting each of the proposals in brackets, at the ministerial meeting in Quito at the end of this month. We also request that the TNC instruct the governments participating in the negotiations to publish their own negotiating proposals. These two steps would greatly increase the transparency of the negotiations and facilitate an informed public debate on economic integration in the Americas. Sincerely, Acción para La Comunidad y La Ecología en Las Regiones de Associação Brazileira do Ensino de Psicologia Brazil - Brazil ATALC / Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean - Regional Border Ecology Project – USA California Fair Trade Campaign – USA Campaign for Labor Rights – USA Campanha Jubileu Sul / Brazil – Brazil Campaña Ecuatoriana contra el ALCA - Ecuador Campaña Peruana contra el ALCA - Perú Center for Economic Justice, New Mexico – USA Center of Concern – USA Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) - Bolivia Centro de Educação Popular do Instituto SEDES Sapientiae - Brazil Centro de Estudios Internacionales Grupo Miembro de COMPA - Nicaragua Centro Memorial Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr - Cuba Citizens Trade Campaign – USA Círculo Político-Cultural Enrico Berlinguer Comite en Solidaridad con el Pueblo Salvadoreno – USA Common Frontiers Canadá - Canadá Consejo de Canadienses/Council of Canadians - Canadá CONAIE Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador - Ecuador Confederacion de Trabajadores de la Educacion de la Republica – Argentina Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux, CSN - Québec, Canada CONFEUNASSC-CNC (Confederación Nacional Campesina del Ecuador) - Ecuador Consumidores por el Desarrollo - Peru Convergencia de Movimientos de los Pueblos de las Américas (COMPA) – Regional Central de Trabajadores Argentinos (CTA) - Argentina Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice – USA Centro Unido dos Trabalhadores (CUT) - Brazil Development GAP - USA El Ají - Colectivo por Otra Democracia Economic Justice – USA ECUARUNARI Confederación de Pueblos de la Nacionalidad Kichwa - Ecuador Florida Fair Trade Campaign – USA Escuela Sindical Primero de Mayo - Bolivia Federação de Sindicatos de Engenheiros - Brazil Federação dos Trabalhadores Metalúrgicos- RS-Brazil Federação Nacional dos Metalúrgicos da CUT- Brazil Federacion de Trabajadores de la Industria - Argentina Federacion de Trabajadores de la Energia - Argentina Federación de Trabajadores Fabriles de Cochabamba. - Bolivia Federacion Judicial Argentina - Argentina Fórum Colombia - Colombia Friends of the Earth – USA Fuerza Bolivariana de Trabajadores Fundacion para el Desarrollo Integral del Sur de Zacatecas, A.C Fundación Solón - Bolivia Global Exchange – USA Grassroots International – USA Greater Kansas City Fair Trade Coalition – USA Grito dos Excluídos Grupo Género y Economía. Headlines Theatre, Vancouver - Canada Health GAP (Global Access Project) – USA IBRADES/ CNBB – Brazil Indiana Alliance for Democracy – USA Indiana Fair Trade Campaign – USA Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) – USA Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project - USA Instituto de Políticas Alternativas para o Cone Sul - Brazil Public Services International (PSI) – Interamerican Region International Environmental Policy and Development – USA International Labor Rights Fund – USA Justice and Witness Ministries – USA Kairos - Canada Marcha Mundial das Mulheres - Brazil Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns USA Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition Missouri Rural Crisis Center MST - Brazil Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala USA Ohio Fair Trade Campaign USA Oxfam América - USA Partido Comunista do Brazil - Brazil Plataforma en Lucha contra el ALCA/COMPA- Costa Rica Plataforma Peruana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo Plate-forme haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Alternatif (PAPDA) Haiti PSTU- Brazil Public Citizen USA Quixote Center/Quest for Peace USA Red Peru Jubileo 2000. Red Sinti Techan de El Salvador Rede Brazileira Pela Integração dos Povos REBRIP / Brazil Rede Brazileira sobre Instituições Multilaterais - Brazil Rede de Solidariedade Internacional Brazil REDES Amigos de la Tierra – Latin America Resource Center of the Americas – USA Sacramento Activists for Democratic Trade Sacramento – USA Serviço Pastoral dos Migrantes - Brazil Sierra Club – USA Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de São José dos Campos e Região - Brazil Sindicatos Nacional dos Docentes das Instituições de Ensino Superior - Brazil Sisters of the Holy Cross – USA Southwest Ohio Green Party – USA Tennessee Industrial Renewal Network (TIRN) – USA Texas Fair Trade Coalition – USA The SHARE Foundation – USA U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project (LEAP) – USA UNES- Unidad Ecologica Salvadoreña - El Salvador União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE) - Brazil Unión Democrática de Organizaciones Sociales - Mexico United Auto Workers (UAW) – USA United Church of Christ – USA United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) – USA United for a Fair Economy – USA United Trauma Relief – USA Upper West Side -- Tipitapa Sister City Project – USA U. S.-El Salvador Sister Cities – USA ViequeSol: Solidarity with Vieques – USA Via Campesina - Brazil Western N.Y. Council on Occupational Safety & Health (WNYCOSH) – USA Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign – USA Women's EDGE – USA |