The 34-nation summit is poised to set the year 2006 as the date when an Americas Free Trade Arrangement goes into effect. Chile is hoping to get an even earlier start and expects post-summit talks with the Clinton administration to set the seal on its becoming the next member of the North American Free Trade Agreement linking the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Apart from trade, there is yet another plan for a hemispheric crackdown on cocaine cartels. Several Latin American leaders are also expected to raise the issue of Washington's treatment of illegal aliens, many of them from Mexico and Central America.
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