Open and expanded trade will benefit all 34 nations of the FTAA. It will lead to better jobs, with bigger paychecks, in more competitive businesses, as well as to more choices of goods and inputs, with lower prices, for hard-working families and hard-driving entrepreneurs. The Bush Administration recognizes this.

His (Bush's) reelection provides a framework for continued successful negotiations. Trade and investment are the engines driving inter-American relations today and free trade agreements, both bi-lateral and multi-lateral, voluntarily initiated and ratified by President Bush and the heads of state of the western hemisphere, provide the much needed fuel. The rallying cry for this integration must be the reality of the competition our hemisphere faces daily from Europe and the Asian continent.

Globalization is not a possibility of the future but rather a reality of the present. It is a necessity, not a luxury, in order for the Americas to gain a competitive advantage over larger economies. As part of this historic process that began in Miami nearly a decade ago, we reaffirm our commitment to secure Miami as the Permanent Secretariat of the FTAA. We must continue to work this process understanding and accepting that it is a politically complex undertaking but not an impossible one.

Today more than ever we are well-positioned to turn this vision into a reality and with four more years under President Bush's administration and the unwavering leadership of Governor Jeb Bush, we remain at the forefront of this new economy. Now more than ever, it is no longer a question of if the FTAA will be signed and the Secretariat will be placed in Miami, but rather a question of when it will take place.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories....

Mexico’s Vicente Fox, in a 2002 address to European elites, was unexpectedly candid about these aims:

"Eventually our long-range objective is to establish with the United States, but also with Canada, our other regional partner, an ensemble of connections and institutions similar to those created by the European Union, with the goal of attending to future themes the future prosperity of North America, and the movement of capital, goods, services, and persons."

This same vision has been endorsed by powerful people in our nation -- including some regarded to be conservative. Among those who applauded Fox's vision was Robert L. Bartley, editor of the influential Wall Street Journal:

"Reformist Mexican President Vicente Fox raises eyebrows with his suggestion that over a decade or two Nafta should evolve into something like the European Union, with open borders for not only goods and investment but also people. He can rest assured that there is one voice north of the Rio Grande that supports his vision. To wit, this newspaper."

"Indeed, during the immigration debate of 1984 we suggested an ultimate goal to guide passing policies — a constitutional amendment: "There shall be -- open borders."

—July 2, 2002 editorial entitled "Open NAFTA Borders? Why Not?"

Source: http://www.stoptheftaa.org/ftaa /

Under the planned FTAA, Americans will gradually lose control over their destiny, their property, their taxes, and they will lose the protection of their rights by the Bill of Rights. The FTAA, like the European Union, will eliminate the enforcement of national borders to foster the free flow of peoples, not just products. National borders will become like our state borders. The immigration problem will be solved, since there will be no more immigration, only migration of populations at will.

Source: http://www.stoptheftaa.org/faq/faq1.html#a...