United States free trade agreements
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is party to many free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide.
Beginning with the Theodore Roosevelt administration, the United States became a major player in international trade, especially with its neighboring territories in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Today, America has become a leader of the free trade movement, standing behind groups such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
(later the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
).
Past free trade agreements
: Canada-United States Free Trade AgreementCanada-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement was a trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States on October 4, 1988. The agreement, finalized by October 1987, removed several trade restrictions in stages over a ten year period, and resulted in a great increase in cross-border trade...
(1988; superseded by the NAFTA)
Free trade agreements in force
Coming into force
Coming into force or entry into force refers to the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect...
are to be seen.: Israel – United States Free Trade Agreement (incl. Palestinian Authority; 1985)
-
North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) (incl. Canada and Mexico; 1994): Jordan – United States Free Trade Agreement (2001): Australia-United States Free Trade AgreementAustralia-United States Free Trade AgreementThe Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement is a preferential trade agreement between Australia and the United States modelled on the North American Free Trade Agreement . The free trade agreement was signed on 18 May 2004, ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives on 14 July 2004 by a...
(2004): Chile - United States Free Trade Agreement (2004): Singapore – United States Free Trade Agreement (2004): Bahrain – United States Free Trade Agreement (2006): Morocco - United States Free Trade Agreement (2006): Oman – United States Free Trade Agreement (2006): Peru – United States Trade Promotion Agreement (2007) -
Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA; incl. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic; 2005): Panama - United States Trade Promotion Agreement
Panama - United States Trade Promotion AgreementThe Panama - United States Trade Promotion Agreement is a bilateral free trade agreement, whose stated objectives include eliminating obstacles to trade, consolidating access to goods and services and favoring private investment in and between both nations...
(2011): Colombia - United States Trade Promotion AgreementColombia Trade Promotion AgreementThe United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement , is a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia. Sometimes called the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, it was signed on November 22, 2006, by Deputy U.S...
(2011)
Free trade agreements waiting approval
: Republic of Korea - United States Free Trade Agreement (2011)Proposed free trade agreements
The United States is negotiating bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements with the following countries and blocs:- Free Trade Area of the AmericasFree Trade Area of the AmericasThe Free Trade Area of the Americas , , ) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 countries met in Miami, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
(FTAA; incl. all countries on the Western HemisphereWestern HemisphereThe Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
) - US - Middle East Free Trade Area (US-MEFTA; incl. most countries in the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
) -
Transatlantic Free Trade Area
Transatlantic Free Trade AreaThe Transatlantic Free Trade Area is a proposed free trade area between the United States and the European Union in reaction to the growing economic power of the People's Republic of China. It was considered in the 1990s and again in 2007 but no firm plan has been made...
(TAFTA; European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
): United States-Thailand Free Trade AgreementUnited States-Thailand Free Trade AgreementPresident George W. Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced the intention to negotiate a US-Thailand-FTA on October 19, 2003 during President Bush's state visit to Thailand on the event of the APEC Leaders' meeting in Bangkok. Mr...
(on hold since the 2006 Thai coup d'état): US-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: US-Ghana Free Trade Agreement: US-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement: US-Kenya Free Trade Agreement: US-Kuwait Free Trade Agreement (Expert-level trade talks held in February 2006): US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (last meeting was in July 2008): US-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement: US-Mozambique Free Trade Agreement: US-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement: US-United Arab Emirates Free Trade Agreement (5th round of talks are yet to be scheduled) - US-Southern African Customs Union Free Trade Agreement (US-SAUC; incl. , , , , and ; on hold since 2006 due to US demands on intellectual property rights, government procurement rights and investment): US-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement: US-Qatar Free Trade Agreement (on hold since 2006)
See also
- Trade and Investment Framework AgreementTrade and Investment Framework AgreementA Trade and Investment Framework Agreement is a trade pact which establishes a framework for expanding trade and resolving outstanding disputes between countries....
- Bilateral Investment TreatyBilateral Investment TreatyA bilateral investment treaty is an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state. This type of investment is called foreign direct investment . BITs are established through trade pacts...
- List of free trade agreements
- New Zealand free trade agreementsNew Zealand free trade agreementsNew Zealand is party to several free trade agreements worldwide.-History:The Economy of New Zealand is a market economy which is greatly dependent on international trade, mainly with Australia, the United States of America, China and Japan. It is strongly dependent on tourism and agricultural...