The prospect of long-term sustained growth is high given its remarkably high savings and investment rates, and its pioneering commitment to privatization, including its very successful privatization of the social security system. Chile is the logical next step as we pursue the Free Trade Area of the Americas. As I noted previously, economic reform and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean are of major importance to the U.S. economy. We have a very broad spectrum of interests, ranging from democracy, to prosperity, to the environment. The question before us is not whether to cooperate with our neighbors, but how to structure that cooperation most effectively.
Trade is a crucial part of our relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean.
The goal of hemispheric free trade has been accepted by the entire hemisphere, with the unique exception of Cuba. The reforming leaders of the hemisphere have promised their people a better future based on democratic political systems, market-oriented economies, and cooperation with the U.S. Credible movement by the U.S. toward the FTAA is needed to support the political and economic transformations underway in Latin America and the Caribbean. The FTAA will clearly benefit U.S. commercial interests. But it is far more than just a trade initiative. It symbolizes the new relationship between the U.S. and Latin America as equal partners with common values and practical means of cooperation to achieve common goals.