Venezuela, Brazil Oppose Early Implementation of Free Trade Pact

The early implementation of the Americas free trade pact might disrupt the integration process of Latin American and Caribbean states and harm small and weak economies, Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias said Sunday.

In "Hello, President," a weekly program at the national radio, Chavez expressed concerns over the decision by the Americas Summit to implement the American free trade accord in 2003, two years ahead of schedule.

According to media reports, the Americas Summit scheduled for April 20-22 in Quebec, Canada, will try to forward the implementation of the pact by two years at the suggestion of the United States and Canada.

Chavez said he would meet his Brazilian counterpart, Fernando Enrique Cardoso, for discussions on the issue. The meeting would be vital not only to Venezuela, but to the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean as well.

He said the two countries were opposed to the early implementation of the accord. Both countries were of the view that the integration process should proceed through different stages and sufficient evaluation should be conducted, he added.

He stressed that integration should not start when the majority of Lain American and Caribbean countries were not adequately prepared for competition with industrialized countries like the U. S. and Canada on an equal footing in many economic spheres.

Rash integration could only disrupt and weaken Venezuela's economy, and nobody could tell what might happen to its agriculture and industry, he warned.

"Integration should benefit all countries rather than certain countries or sectors," he said.

The 34 heads of American governments agreed in Miami, the US, in 1994 to finish the negotiation on establishing the free trade areas of the Americas before 2005.

Chavez will also discuss with Cardoso the membership of Andean Community member nations, Venezuela in particular, in the South American Common Market (Mercosur).

Venezuela currently holds the rotating presidency of the Andean Community, which groups Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.






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