The 12 World Leaders convene in support of the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas Initiative

By Chuck Cobb and Donna E. Shalala 

We believe it is critical that Florida and the United States provide bipartisan support for the 12 Western Hemisphere countries that have formed the alliance called “Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas”.  These 12 countries that previously have negotiated trade agreements are Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the United States. 

The presidents of the member countries of Pathways to Prosperity of the Americas met in New York on September 24 and issued a communiqué announcing that their countries are committed to the following goals:  1) increasing international trade in the Americas that is broadly shared for the benefit of all citizens; 2) promoting regional trade whereby countries in the Americas can better compete with Asia and other regions of the world; 3) expanding regional economic development and job creation; 4) enhancing labor and environmental standards; and 5) engaging the private sector and civil society to advance these objectives through public/private partnerships.

The concept that these select countries in the Americas might form an alliance was first proposed by Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, in early 2007 after he left the U.S. Government where he had been the Deputy Secretary of State and the U.S. Trade Representative.  Mr. Zoellick emphasized that for this alliance to succeed in its goals it must be supported in the United States in a bipartisan fashion.  We are pleased that many leaders in the Democratic controlled Congress along with leaders in the Bush Administration are supporting it.  Mr. Zoellick also suggested that the alliance be headquartered in Miami, Florida to take advantage of its many benefits.

Greater Miami has a large and diverse population from Latin America and the Caribbean which gives its work force significant cultural and bilingual skills.  Further, Greater Miami has an impressive infrastructure such as air transportation services, seaports, telecommunication networks, financial services, international academic institutions and other international advantages.  Over 1,000 international companies are headquartered in South Florida because of these strategic assets.  The Florida business community, its academic community and its political community are well prepared to provide the facilities and infrastructure in Greater Miami to host the secretariat for Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas.

The University of Miami, Gateway Florida, and Florida FTAA have long been advocating greater Western Hemisphere integration.  In March, 2005, the University of Miami created the Center for Hemispheric Policy to enhance the university’s role in the discussion and development of hemispheric policy initiatives including the advancement of hemispheric integration.  Gateway Florida was created by Governor Charlie Crist and Florida FTAA was created by former Governor Jeb Bush to advocate the same integration in the hemisphere. 

Another priority of Gateway Florida and the Florida academic community has been to educate all Floridians on the benefits to Florida of the U.S.-Colombia and the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreements that have been negotiated by the two countries and are awaiting Congressional approval.  Both the authors of this article have publicly endorsed these agreements and urged Florida’s Congressional leaders to do likewise.

Some will criticize Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas since they believe it is too modest in its objectives because it might be abandoning the broader version of a 34 country FTAA.  In our judgment Western Hemisphere integration must start somewhere, and this is a good start.  Remember, the European Union also started small.  We hope that Brazil, Uruguay, the Caribbean countries and other countries in the Americas will soon join Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas. 

With the 34 democratically elected heads of state meeting at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009 (just six months away), it is critical that the leaders of our hemisphere develop a consensus strategy on how our region will compete more effectively with the rest of the world.  In our judgment the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas could be just the vehicle to create such a consensus.

Dr. Donna E. Shalala is the President of the University of Miami and the former Secretary of Health and Human Services for President Clinton.  Ambassador Chuck Cobb is the Chairman of Gateway Florida and Florida FTAA and a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

To read a speech by President George W. Bush on the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas initiative, click here.

To read a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the initiative, click here .

To read the communique by C. Colin Guest, click here. 

(For more information on events Gateway Florida has participated in, such as the 2nd Annual International Award Ceremony and the "America Wins with Free Trade" Bus Tour , please check out our events section.)