Jeff Miller: “I rise in support of this bi- partisan resolution directing the President and the United States Trade Representative to…”

“I rise in support of this bi- partisan resolution directing the President and the United States Trade Representative to pursue all available means to insure that the permanent home of the Free Trade Area of the Americas' (FTAA) Secretariat is located in the city of Miami, Florida. Miami already boasts a strong economic and cultural connection to our country's southern neighbors and trading partners, and is now positioned to become the ``Brussels of the Western Hemisphere'' by hosting the permanent home of the FTAA. For those who may be unaware, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is the product of agreements among the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere to establish a means for cooperation to promote trade and further reduce barriers to trade within this hemisphere. As part of that goal, the trade ministers of 34 countries agreed to establish an organization, the FTAA Secretariat, to aid the process of trade liberalization. By 2005 the FTAA Secretariat will have international institution status providing jobs and tremendous economic benefits to its host city akin to the European regional economic and governmental organizations in Brussels. The agreement establishing the FTAA Secretariat calls for its location to rotate on a temporary basis between three cities: Panama City, Panama; Mexico City, Mexico; and Miami, Florida.…”