Free Trade Area of the Americas - FTAA

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FTAA.tncmin/2001/02
February 4, 2002

Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat

FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS


OVERALL ARCHITECTURE OF THE FTAA AGREEMENT
(GENERAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES)


TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
TERMS OF REFERENCE

A. The Technical Committee on Institutional Issues – reporting to the Trade Negotiations Committee – will be made up of representatives of the 34 countries of the Hemisphere. The Trade Negotiations Committee Chair will be the Vice-Chair of this Committee.

B. Its objective will be to draft a proposal for an overall architecture of an FTAA Agreement (general and institutional aspects), with submissions of regular reports to the Trade Negotiations Committee before each Viceministerial meeting, including recommendations on the issues on which delegations have reached consensus. Priority will be given to addressing those issues which must be resolved for the work of the Negotiating Groups.

C. The Technical Committee on Institutional Issues will submit a proposal for a Work Program for consideration by the Trade Negotiations Committee at its next meeting.

D. The draft architecture will include a proposed text and recommendations on substantive issues, including but not limited to:
1) General provisions.

a. Preamble
b. Purposes and Objectives of the Agreement.
c. Principles
d. Exceptions.
e. Scope and coverage of the obligations. Relation to federal or unitary States.
f. Relationship between FTAA and WTO Agreements.
g. Relationship between FTAA and other regional integration agreements.

2) Transparency

3) Treatment of differences in the levels of development and size of economies.

4) Costs of Implementing the Agreement.

The Technical Committee on Institutional Issues will consider the costs of implementation of the FTAA, including technical assistance.

5) Temporary and final provisions.

E. The draft architecture will include recommendations on the institutions required to implement the FTAA Agreement, including, but not limited to:
a. Political Body: responsible for the political guidance of the process.
b. Executive Body: responsible for monitoring the general development of the process, including the work of the Technical Committees and the Administrative Secretariat.
c. Technical Body: made up of the Technical Committees, responsible for supervising the implementation of the different chapters of the Agreement.
d. Administrative Secretariat: administrative, logistical and operational support bodies, supervised by the executive body.
In drafting these recommendations, the Technical Committee on Institutional Issues will take into account any proposal submitted by the Negotiating Groups regarding the institutional bodies deemed necessary for the operation of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism envisaged in the FTAA Agreement.

F. The proposal of the Technical Committee on Institutional Issues will include proposals on the funding mechanisms, the administrative rules and the implications for human resources for the functioning of the institutional structure of the FTAA Agreement.
 
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