U.S. Trade Policy

Will new regional trade agreements create American jobs?

Introduction

After more than four years without pushing for new free-trade agreements, President Obama has decided the time is ripe for America to again push for a more liberalized international trading system. The United States is negotiating two massive regional free-trade pacts — one with 11 Asian and Pacific Rim countries and the other with the 28-member European Union. Together, the 40 countries comprise the lion's share of the world economy. Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization is languishing on the sidelines as negotiations over a slew of new regional agreements overshadow the WTO's decade-long effort to broker a single global trade agreement. Hopes for the regional pacts have reignited debates on whether free trade creates or costs U.S. jobs and helps or hurts human rights. Looming ...

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