Bilateral Agreements and Fair Trade Practices: A Policy Analysis of the Colombia- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (2006)

摘要

This Article brings to the attention of those public servants involved inthe design and negotiation of free trade agreements between the UnitedStates and developing countries, such as Colombia, the potential benefitsand drawbacks of negotiating in a bilateral forum. Rather than critiquingthe free trade agreement for its particular provisions, this Articleexamines the U.S. policy of negotiating bilaterally with developingcountries as opposed to multilaterally in the world trade system and whateffects such an approach might have on the economic development of thelatter. Using an incremental policy analysis, the Article critiques thebilateral approach in terms of economic development and fair tradenegotiations using the recent Colombia-U.S. trade agreement as a casestudy. The Article concludes that a bilateral approach that is disconnectedfrom a broader multilateral context may be detrimental to developingcountries and recommends increased oversight of such agreements by theWorld Trade Organization to ensure a higher degree offairness.