MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rio Group not too enthusiastic about FTAA.

The resumption of negotiations for the Free Trade Association of the Americas, FTAA, as was anticipated this week by US Ambassador in Brazil John Danilovich did not receive an encouraging reply from the South American representatives meeting in Rio this week.

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim said that the resumption of (US sponsored) FTAA talks has less priority than advancing in multilateral negotiations in the framework of the World Trade Organization.

Mr. Amorim added that dialogue prospects following the end of the US presidential electoral process could be "too precipitated", but the WTO round is "vital and immediate".

"What we pretend is the elimination of subsidies and the big trade distortions, and that can only happen in the framework of WTO", insisted Mr. Amorim.

Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Manuel Rodríguez also made it quiet clear that negotiation for a free trade association of the Americas is not one of the main priorities of its country.

"We're negotiating with United States a common free trade agreement together with Ecuador and Peru", added Mr. Rodríguez.

"An agreement of this dimension is more significant for Peru, which has a relatively small domestic market, than exhausting efforts to achieve one far more extensive".