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12/16/2004:
"Castro, Chavez defy US trade pact"
Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have announced an alternative trade bloc to the one proposed by the US for a free-trade area of the Americas.The alternative was conceived as "a battle fought with the same rules and regulations as those imposed by the [US] empire to divide the people", Castro said on Tuesday.
Naming the new pact the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the presidents said it would eliminate trade barriers and tax obstacles, provide incentives for investment, increase banking relations and tourism cooperation.
Venezuela promised financing for Cuban industrial and infrastructure projects, while Cuba agreed to pay a minimum price of $27 per barrel of Venezuelan oil, as part of the accord "to apply the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas".
Full Article: aljazeera.net
