FTAA is coming

IT'S no secret that Florida's growers are situated on the front lines of our government's quest for free trade. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a hemispheric initiative that targets South American economies for new trade agreements, could be in place by 2005. Key among the South American

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick came to Florida this fall to hear producers' concerns about FTAA. Citrus growers were first with their admonitions to Zoellick about preserving the tariff on Brazilian orange juice.

Florida's cost of production hamstrings domestic producers from meeting Brazil on price. If the tariff were cut just a few points, Brazil would soon have the price advantage and capacity to displace Florida's position in the market.

Zoellick knows that currency fluctuations can quickly negate the intended results of carefully crafted trade accords. Review what happened in the NAFTA deal. In the months after NAFTA was signed, Mexico's devaluation of the peso made tariff rates meaningless. Tomatoes and other vegetables flooded U.S. markets, selling at below-cost prices that didn't make sense.