(FORTUNE Magazine) – Listen up, Ross. Economists Gary Hufbauer and Jeffrey Schott of the Institute for International Economics say now is the time to think about what's after NAFTA, lest we lose our free-trade momentum and miss another economic opportunity. They urge NAFTA members to consider signing up neighbors to the south. Hufbauer and Schott believe that broadening NAFTA into WHFTA (for Western Hemisphere Free Trade Area) would be an economic boon to all parties. To gauge the economic effects of such a treaty, they put together a hypothetical agreement similar to the current one. They estimate that by 2002, U.S. exports to the Caribbean and Latin America would rise 51% and imports from the region would jump 43%. Of course some countries are readier than others for inclusion in a WHFTA. Hufbauer and Schott rate the readiness of the region's countries based on various economic criteria (see table). Not surprisingly, the U.S. and Canada top the list, but Chile beats Mexico. Way down on the list are Brazil and Peru, both of which have a long way to go before getting their inflation- plagued economies under control. --J.A.