Bush flies into summit protests

President Bush hopes to persuade other leaders to join in a free trade pact

By BBC News Online's David Schepp in Quebec City

President George W Bush has arrived in Quebec for his first major foreign summit as anti-capitalist demonstrators vowed to disrupt the third Summit of the Americas.

Over 6,000 police have been employed in Canada's largest security operation ever, in the hope of preventing a repeat of the violence that marred the Seattle trade summit in 1999.

The sooner we get a free trade agreement for the Americas in place, the better off the continent will be

George W Bush

As President Bush left Washington to meet leaders of 33 North and South American nations in Quebec, he told reporters that his goal was to create an "entire hemisphere that is both prosperous and free."

"It is a great task to make the Americas the Land of Opportunity," he said, briefly also speaking in Spanish.

"Our goal in Quebec is to build a hemisphere of liberty. We must approach this goal in a spirit of civility, mutual respect and appreciation for our shared values," Mr Bush added..

Mr Bush made it clear that as well as discussing the drug problem, promoting his free trade plan was his top priority.

But he faces an uphill struggle in persuading other Latin American leaders to accelerate plans for a huge free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

Police have mounted a big security operation

Activists fear that such a trade zone will lead to job losses and weaken local democracy.

Quebec authorities have already arrested some demonstrators who they say were planning on violent protests.

And they have erected a four-mile long, twelve-foot high wall that will protect summit sites in the heart of historic Old Town in Quebec, while shopkeepers boarded up their windows.

Regional differences

President Bush, who will meet Latin American leaders individually later on Friday, has launched a charm offensive to try and persuade his fellow heads of government of the advantages of free trade.

"The sooner we get a free trade agreement for the Americas in place, the better off the continent will be," Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush faces the most resistance from Brazil, the largest economy in South America, which would like to see US concessions on agricultural subsidies.

Oranges are just one item Brazil would like to see more of exported to the US. But it argues that US tariffs make it too expensive for it to compete against Florida's orange growers.

The role of Mexico is also in doubt. Currently the only Latin American country to enjoy unrestricted access to US markets, it is loathe to give up that privilege.

Big and bold trade plan

The proposal to extend the already existing Nafta free trade area (which links the US, Canada and Mexico) is one of the biggest and boldest ideas ever in the annals of commerce.

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) would encompass nearly all the countries of the Americas with a combined population of 800 million who produce goods and services totalling $11.4 trillion - bigger than the European Union.

The plan, if approved by 2005, would eliminate or make very low tariffs on goods moving between countries. It would also streamline customs regulations, eliminate quotas and subsidies and remove other impediments to trade.

And while the FTAA is to play just a part in the talks to take place this weekend, it remains the issue for trade officials and protestors who have travelled to Quebec to voice their concerns.

US opposition

Mr Bush in an enthusiastic supporter of the free trade area -a idea dreamed up by his father, former President George Bush - but he faces significant domestic opposition to the plan.

The key will be his ability to get the US Congress to grant him "fast-track" authority, which would allow him to make trade deals without detailed oversight.

US labour and environmental groups do not want the president to have the power to make such deals without assurances that workers and the environment are protected, and they have strong allies in a divided US Congress.

Mr Bush is already behind the curve, hoping to have had his authority cemented in place prior to this weekend's conference. Now he, and others, will have to work harder in Quebec to ensure the FTAA becomes reality without the violence and discord of Seattle.