Hard work is paying off; many Americans are becoming aware of the implications of the FTAA. In fact there are reports that the vote on the FTAA will be pushed back. The key is telling your fellow patriots how they can act to preserve their independence by influencing Congress to oppose the FTAA. Letting others know can be as simple as offering information to a friend or relative, directing others to www.STOPtheFTAA.org, or forwarding this newsletter to a friend.

In addition to opposing the FTAA, now is the time to go on the offensive against sovereignty-destroying supranational trade regimes by convincing Congress to withdraw U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Every five years there is a window of opportunity for Congress to withdraw from the WTO. This year happens to be one of those years. Click here to read “The WTO Trap” (from The New American, January 10, 2005) and learn why our nation must withdraw from the WTO.

The STAY INFORMED newsletter is distributed monthly to bring you the latest developments in the “STOP the FTAA” campaign. STAY INFORMED will also deliver links to news articles and suggestions for active support of the “STOP the FTAA” campaign.

JANUARY LINKS:

U.S. Official Says Bush Wants FTAA ASAP: John F. Maisto, the Bush administration’s coordinator for the Summit of the Americas, says that President Bush is “quite committed” to the FTAA. “We want an FTAA. (and) we want it as soon as possible,” he added. “Everything that we do is moving in that direction.”
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20041214t050000-0500_71386_obs_bush_is_a_multilateralist__says_us_official.asp

U.S. Launches New Offensive in FTAA Talks with Brazil: “The Americas remain a keen focus of American trade liberalization,” said Ross Wilson, senior negotiator for the now-stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations. Trade officials from the U.S. and Brazil, which are the co-chairs of what was supposed to be the final stage of FTAA negotiations, are trying to arrange a new meeting in the next couple weeks, Wilson said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/10389992.htm

U.S. and Brazil Work on Moving the FTAA Forward: The U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, John J. Danilovich, reported that U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim have recently exchanged letters on moving the Free Trade Area of the Americas forward.
http://www.embaixadaamericana.org.br/index.php?action=materia&id=2986&submenu=padrao.inc.php&itemmenu=10

The WTO Trap (from The New American – January 10, 2005): The World Trade Organization, a Geneva-based body composed of foreign bureaucrats, will control our nation’s economic future unless we get out – now!
http://www.stoptheftaa.org/artman/publish/article_154.shtml

Haven’t we learned from our mistakes? Some members of Congress are beginning to understand the failures of past trade agreements, and are therefore in opposition to any new legislation regarding free trade.
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/12/27/news/letters/ltr01.prt

Letter to the editor: Each month we post a letter to the editor from newspapers nationwide asking Americans to realize the threat posed by the FTAA. This month:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brpb508dec25,0,505105,print.story?coll=sfla-news-letters

Order a STOP the FTAA Starter Kit! Do you understand the threats of the FTAA, and would like a simple, effective way to spread the word? Find everything you need from conversation starting buttons, to pass along cards, pamphlets, and a bumper sticker in our Stop the FTAA starter kit:
http://www.stoptheftaa.org/store/index.html

Learn more about the “STOP the FTAA” campaign’s sponsor: The John Birch Society has influenced millions of Americans toward, “Less Government, More Responsibility, and - With God’s Help - a Better World” over the past 45 years….
http://www.jbs.org/