MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina - The United States argues a free trade zone from Canada to Chile would create jobs and build economies. So far, the idea has fueled protests, divided nations and sunk summits.
Negotiators spent hours debating the merits of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas during this weekend's summit of Western Hemisphere leaders only to see the talks go nowhere amid harsh rhetoric inside and violent street protests outside.
Mexican President Vicente Fox, who led a group of 29 nations in pushing for high-level talks on the trade zone idea as early as April, said he and the other supporters would proceed without dissenting nations, which include Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
But the threat seemed to cause little concern, and the warring sides left the summit more divided than before.
"We are not going to negotiate something that is harmful to the interests of our people," Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa said.
His position wasn't surprising. Negotiations on creating the trade zone, a bloc that would surpass even the European Union in size and scope, have struggled since the idea was first brought up during the first Summit of the Americas in 1994.
Negotiators were forced to water down the proposal during a 2003 summit in Miami, and they then missed last January's target for finishing the deal.
On Friday, at the start of the fourth Americas summit, President Bush and others reignited debate on the controversial plan.
As in the past, the idea sparked violent protests at the summit as anti-free trade demonstrators clashed with police and broke store windows in Mar del Plata, leading to dozens of arrests. Many called Bush a fascist and said free trade would only bring more poverty and suffering to Latin America.
Their anger reflected a widespread international distrust of trade liberalization, which many believe is designed to exploit workers in the developing world.
But U.S. officials point to the success of the North America Free Trade AGREement, which boosted trade and the economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay stood firm on their position that the region was not ready for such a large free trade undertaking. They said they want to tackle international trade issues at the next round of World Trade Organization meetings in December.
Bush sought Sunday to bring Brazil into the fold, urging South America's largest economy to use its regional influence in support of the FTAA. Bush believes such a free-trade zone stretching from Alaska to Argentina would create jobs and give the region's 220 million poor better lives.
The deal's biggest opponent at the summit was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who vowed repeatedly to "bury" it. Late Saturday, he declared victory hours after Bush left on a plane in the middle of negotiations, putting Thomas Shannon, the new assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, in charge of working through the prickly issue.
"The real failure here was Mr. Bush," Chavez said. "He left defeated, and they will all keep being defeated. This century will be for the people of Latin America."
Chavez — who has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of planning to invade Venezuela, something Washington denies — has seized on the free trade issue. He has even proposed a counter-economic plan for the region based on socialist ideals.
It wasn't the first time free trade brought leaders to a deadlock. WTO talks have broken down twice before — first in Seattle in 1999 and then in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003 — largely because poor nations want Europe and the United States to drop agriculture subsidies to make it easier for farmers in the developing world to compete.
The likelihood of a hemispheric free trade zone anytime soon seems bleak, although Fox has vowed to push on with the 28 other supporting nations.
Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Institute for International Economics in Washington, said the plan will likely be geared at pressuring the rest of the region to join in.
"I think the 'pioneer' FTAA will be designed so that those left behind can catch up and dock on at a later date," he said.
