ABSTRACT
The chapter describes the initiative to form the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in the context of two main economic forces, regionalization and globalization. Extremely ambitious, the FTAA would include all American nations except Cuba, and create the largest regional trade area in the world, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. It traces the origin of the idea, describes succinctly the negotiating process, evaluates the progress made so far, and accesses if negotiations are going to be successfully completed by 2005.
