Bill Nelson: “I take this opportunity to bring to the Senate's attention to some recent news about the ongoing negotiations of the…”

“I take this opportunity to bring to the Senate's attention to some recent news about the ongoing negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or the FTAA. These negotiations have been going on for some period of time. I look at these with significant interest, as they dramatically affect my State of Florida. There are many mutual benefits that will accrue to the nations of the Western Hemisphere from a Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement. I am someone who has consistently supported free and fair trade. That is why I am hopeful these negotiations are going to yield an agreement that ultimately can be supported here. However, there is a critical issue with respect to the negotiations of the FTAA that is absolutely crucial to my State. It involves the Florida citrus industry. It involves tens of thousands of jobs, and it involves basically the production of frozen concentrate that supplies the fresh orange juice on the breakfast tables of so many Americans every morning.”