U.S.-Chile Trade. This bill (H.R. 2738) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Chile. The significance of this trade agreement, like that of the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement (see House bill below).
[ U.S.-Singapore Trade. H.R. 2739 would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Singapore. A similar bill, the U.S.-Chile Trade Agreement (H.R. 2738), was presented to Congress at the same time as the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement. These are the first in a series of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) that the Bush administration is negotiating, which will culminate in 2005 in the largest and most significant FTA of them all, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
The model for the FTAA is the European Union (EU), formerly the "Common Market," which has grown by design from a supposed free trade agreement into a supranational government for Europe. The world order architects intend for the FTAA to follow the same trajectory for the Americas. ]
The House passed H.R. 2738 on July 24, 2003 by a vote of 270 to 156 (Roll Call 436). We have assigned pluses to the nays because these bilateral "free trade" agreements are intended to be stepping stones to the FTAA, which would set trade (and eventually other) policies for the member nations. However, under the U.S. Constitution only Congress has the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states…."
