[News] Castro, Chavez defy US trade pact

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Castro, Chavez defy US trade pact

Wednesday 15 December 2004 3:27 AM GMT

Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have 
announced an alternative trade bloc to the one proposed by the US for a 
free-trade area of the Americas.

The alternative was conceived as "a battle fought with the same rules and 
regulations as those imposed by the [US] empire to divide the people", 
Castro said on Tuesday.

Naming the new pact the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the 
presidents said it would eliminate trade barriers and tax obstacles, 
provide incentives for investment, increase banking relations and tourism 
cooperation.

Venezuela promised financing for Cuban industrial and infrastructure 
projects, while Cuba agreed to pay a minimum price of $27 per barrel of 
Venezuelan oil, as part of the accord "to apply the Bolivarian Alternative 
for the Americas".

FTAA dead

Before the signing of the agreement, Castro and Chavez addressed a rally in 
Havana where both presidents declared the US-proposed Latin American Free 
Trade Zone dead.

"It is an alternative to the perverse FTAA, which they have been trying to 
impose on us for years," Chavez said. "FTAA is dead."

Chavez also accused Washington of pursuing imperialist intentions in free 
trade talks with Andean countries.

Venezuela is one of the biggest suppliers of crude oil to the US, but their 
relations have been strained by disputes between Chavez and the White 
House.

Washington has expressed concern over Chavez's close ties to Castro since 
Chavez won the presidency in 1998.

And US President George Bush's says the FTAA is the solution to the 
region's deepening poverty.

Chavez visit

Chavez is on a two-day visit to commemorate his first encounter in Havana 
with Castro 10 years ago when he was an army officer recently released from 
prison for leading a failed coup.

At the time, Castro proclaimed him Venezuela's future leader.

Venezuela currently provides Cuba with 53,000 barrels of oil a day at 
preferential prices, while Cuba has 13,000 doctors in Venezuela, is helping 
the country stamp out illiteracy and has treated thousands of Venezuelans 
in its hospitals.

AFP


You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/70FAE354-7832-4AC8-A714-604F65F6C78E.htm 



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