Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 14 June 2000

Chair of the Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society
C/o The Tripartite Committee (Ref. Civil Society)
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
1825 K Street NW, Suite 1120
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Sir/Madam:

I would like to pass along my concern about the negative perception of trade agreements and globalization by the public. A believer in free trade, I would like to see the FTAA take a more proactive approach to getting its message out to the people.

I suggest that the parties to the FTAA consider creating a publicity campaign to educate everyone about this agreement and its effects. Speaking as a citizen of the United States, I sense that many people in my country view the concept of opening markets to foreign competition with a substantial degree of trepidation: losing jobs abroad, the placing of multinational corporate profits above its social consequences, harm to the environment etc. This is probably not unique to the US.

If there were public service announcements on television, radio, print etc. explaining to people:

1) What the FTAA is.
2) How tariff reduction affects the prices of goods and services.
3) The fact that there will be winners and losers in free market competition.
4) The effects of the negotiations in other sectors.
5) Its provisions for the protection of labor and the environmental concerns.
6) And how people’s lives will be transformed for the better through this process.

The idea of the FTAA as something to be feared would be abated to a certain degree. At a minimum, you would not have the projectionists defining your agenda.

Respectfully submitted,