Metal unions meet on FTAA

THE AMERICAS: The IMF Working Group on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) has held its fourth meeting, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with regard to the FTAA process and the potential impact of the FTAA on the metal industry in the Western Hemisphere. Indeed, the FTAA agenda is much more than just cutting tariffs; it is about financial deregulation, privatisation of public services, dismantling of social security systems and the destruction of collective bargaining. Against the backdrop of the passage this summer of fast-track legislation in the USA and the upcoming elections in Brazil, discussions at the meeting centered on the current status of the FTAA negotiations and on industrial policy within the context of regional trade agreements. The metal industry accounts for an important part of trade flows in the Americas, thus metalworkers' interests are directly at stake in the FTAA process. The information and analysis produced by the IMF Working Group on these negotiations has contributed to an increased level of awareness on trade and development issues among affiliates in the region and is widely used in educational activities. What is also important is to transform this into union action. An example of this is the plebiscite against the FTAA in early September in Brazil, supported amongst others by trade unions, which resulted in an overwhelming rejection of the FTAA. Generally, public opinion is wary about the FTAA negotiations and increasingly mistrustful vis-à-vis trade policies of developed countries. The Group said there was a need to interact, discuss and coordinate union strategies within the IMF framework, all the more so as the elections in October in Brazil and next spring in Argentina will see the emergence of a new political constellation in the Americas. The work of the IMF regarding the FTAA and other similar trade deals is a contribution to the wider debate in the IMF on an alternative economic programme, and addressing industrial policy issues is part of that effort. The proposed agreement for the FTAA, which accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the world's GNP, is scheduled for completion in 2005.