The FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) is an expansion of the
1994 NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).
The FTAA intends to bind the 34 countries in the western hemisphere (excluding Cuba) to further remove restrictions on the free movement of capital, goods, and services. Like the attempted Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), the FTAA will further extend the implications of NAFTA, while eliminating its environmental and labor side agreements. For instance NAFTA does not consider things like fresh water as commodities. The FTAA is essentially the MAI combined with NAFTA.
The FTAA plans to broaden definitions of investment to further eradicate the distinctions between short and long term investment, thus promoting socially irresponsible financial speculation.