Trade Negotiations in the Americas and What They Mean for You

Abstract

The United States is engaged in two huge trade negotiations—the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—that will have a profound impact on our economy and on the world trade system. These agreements can be an important template for new rules governing world trade, and they address some important new areas, such as regulatory issues. However, if they are to be a good template, U.S. negotiators have to alter some of their proposals, and these new agreements have to prohibit predatory trade practices, such as currency manipulation.

KEYWORDS:

• Trans-Pacific Partnership
• Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
• Americas
• World Trade Organization
• GATT

Notes

¹ “WTO Doha Negotiations.” Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), accessed June 15, 2014. http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/wto-multilateral-affairs/wto-doha-negotiations.

² “Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).” United States Trade Representative (USTR). http://www.ustr.gov/tpp (accessed June 15, 2014).

³ “Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP).” United States Trade Representative (USTR). http://www.ustr.gov/ttip (accessed June 15, 2014).

⁴ Some foreign trade practices that take advantage of gaps in the current rules are the other major cause of our trade deficit.

⁵ My blog, “Investor-State Dispute Settlement – Fix It, Don’t Ditch It” describes ISDS in more detail. Available at http://americastradepolicy.com/investor-state-dispute-settlement-fix-it-dont-ditch-it-2/#.U6MNd7Efsq8.

⁶ See my blog, “TPP Negotiations Put Progress on Reconciling Trade and Environment at Risk.” Available at http://americastradepolicy.com/tpp-negotiations-put-progress-on-reconciling-trade-and-environment-at-risk/#.U6MQQbEfsq8.