President George W Bush was poised for a big new political setback last night as a diplomatic push for a major free trade agreement seemed stalled amid fierce opposition from key countries and scenes of violence and rioting in Argentina and Uruguay.
Bush, who is already beset by a host of domestic political troubles, had hoped for a major foreign policy coup to take some of the pressure off his beleaguered White House. He has put breaking down free trade barriers in the region at the top of the agenda at the Summit of the Americas, which has brought together leaders from 34 different countries in the Argentine city of Mar Del Plata.
But the end of the summit was delayed as talks dragged on inconclusively about a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). A group of left-leaning countries, headed by Brazil, Venezuela and others, opposed the idea, saying it would open their countries to exploitation by large American firms and do little to alleviate poverty. Bush left the summit before it ended as discussions about whether to adopt a clause scheduling FTAA talks for next year continued past a deadline set for a summit declaration.
