New U.S. Government to Face Challenges in Latin AmericaThe George W. Bush administration will face a series of challenges in its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, said specialists on Monday.Main challenges will include the signing of a free trade agreement with Chile, negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (ALCA) and relations with Cuba, reported Caracas- headquartered Latin American Economic System (LAES) in a communique. Negotiations with Chile could serve as a basis for future U.S. bilateral trade agreements in the region, said LAES specialists, who also noted that the Summit of the Americas, to be held from April 20 to 22 in Quebec, Canada, will be the first international commercial diplomatic experience for Bush. Negotiations with Chile and other South American countries will depend, to a large extent, on Bush's ability to negotiate a fast- track. Chile-U.S. negotiations on the signing of a free trade agreement resumed on December 6 last year, even though U.S. congressmen did not give Bush's predecessor Bill Clinton the faculty for a fast-track negotiation. The faculty for a fast-track negotiation would set special regulations for Congress's consideration of commercial agreements signed by the government. Under the fast-tack, the U.S. President could submit a decree of enactment of agreements to Congress, which would be considered under expedited procedures. LAES specialists assured that there are strong reasons to doubt that the Bush administration will continue with limited reforms, begun by Clinton, on the normalization of relations with the Cuban government. "Should sanctions against Cuba continue to be lessened, there could arise a strong conservative Republican opposition in Congress, and the new president would need all available support from members of his party in the years to come," they said. |
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