Reference no: EM131069848

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) has a major objective to create the largest free trade area on Earth ranging from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, in South America. The FTAA would consist of 34 nations and 830 million consumers, with the possibility that Cuba would eventually enter into the association.

In 1994, the first meeting of the Summit of the Americas took place and formed the basis of the agreement. All the participating nations reaffirmed their commitment to the FTAA at the Second Summit of the Americas four years later. The Third Summit of the Americas in 2001 was confronted by strong protests. The plan of the FTAA will take many years before such an agreement would be realized.

This is a written assignment in essay form. Please follow the APA guidelines and include references that are cited in APA format. Visit the official website of the FTAA (www.alca-ftaa.org) and answer the following questions:

• What are the stated reasons why governments across the Americas are pushing for the free trade area?
• Why do some groups protest implementation of the FTAA?
• Do you think the FTAA would help living standards in small countries (such as Ecuador and Nicaragua) or be a boon only for the largest nations such as Canada and the United States?
• Small companies typically have difficulty competing against large multinationals when their governments take part in regional trading blocs. What could governments do to help their small companies compete in such blocs?
• Do you think sub-regional trading blocs can help small nations strengthen their negotiating positions against large nations?
• Do you think that very small nations should even participate in regional trade agreements with very large nations? Why or why not?
• Do you think sub-regional or regional trade agreements cause instability on a sub-regional, regional, or global scale, or do you believe they foster cooperation?
• After all you've read in this chapter about regional trade agreements, what is your assessment of their value? Should their progress continue or be rolled back?

Research papers will be subject to anti-plagiarism software.

Must be at least 3-4 pages not including title and reference page.