Emergency Committee For American Trade - Publications

ECAT 2008 AGENDA

SECTION IV.3: WESTERN HEMISPHERE

Expansion of U.S. trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere strongly contributes to the growth of the U.S. economy. In 2007, U.S. trade with the 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) equaled $1.14 trillion, and the region accounted for $487 billion or 42 percent of U.S. goods exports.

The United States has expanded trade and investment in the region and promoted greater integration through:

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which entered into force in 1994;
The U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which entered into force in 2004;
The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), which entered into force with five of the six signatory countries in stages in 2006 and 2007;
The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) approved by the U.S. Congress in 2007;
The U.S.-Colombia and U.S.-Panama TPAs, which require Congressional approval; and
Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and other agreements and activities with particular countries and sub-regional groupings.

In several areas, particularly with the NAFTA, the critics and disputes have loomed large, overshadowing the very strong and mutually beneficial relationship that the economic partnerships and integration in our hemisphere have produced. The United States should stay on track in promoting integration and expeditiously resolve existing disputes that undermine strong relationships.

This section reviews the NAFTA, the Caribbean Basin and Andean trade preference programs and integration among the Southern Cone countries. Implementation of the DR-CAFTA, the approval and implementation of the U.S.-Peru, U.S.-Colombia and U.S.-Panama TPAs, and the status of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations are discussed in section II.2.

North American Free Trade Agreement

In November 1993, the U.S. Congress approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It passed the House by 34 votes (234-to-200); it passed the Senate by a vote of 61-to-38. As explained below, NAFTA has been critical to expanding and improving the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trading and investment relationship, bringing substantial benefits to all three countries.

The NAFTA entered into force in 1994 and remains one of the world’s most comprehensive free trade agreements, covering a region with 430 million people who produce over $11 trillion worth of goods and services. Between 1993 and 2007, U.S. farm and manufactured goods exports to Canada and Mexico grew by 171 percent, from $142 billion to $385 billion. Total trade among the three NAFTA countries grew more than three-fold from $291 billion in 1993 to $909 billion. Services trade between the United States and its NAFTA partners equaled $100 billion in 2006, more than three times U.S. services trade with Canada and Mexico in $44 in 1993. Foreign direct investment between the United States and its NAFTA partners expanded to nearly $500 billion in 2006.

The NAFTA eliminates tariff and non-tariff barriers among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Tariffs on qualifying goods between the United States and Canada were eliminated on January 1, 1998, building on the predecessor U.S.-Canada FTA. Tariffs on the remainder of qualifying goods among the three countries were phased out and finally eliminated by the beginning of 2008. NAFTA also includes broad disciplines providing for the elimination of non-tariff barriers on goods and services, increased access to government procurement, non-discriminatory treatment and core protections for investment, removal of foreign-investment restrictions, and protection for intellectual property rights. In addition, it provides several dispute settlement mechanisms. As well, there are three side agreements to the NAFTA: the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the Understanding Between the Parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement Concerning Chapter Eight: Emergency Action.

Success of NAFTA

Trade and investment among NAFTA member countries have increased significantly during the first 14 years of the agreement, helping to expand economic opportunities, enhance economic growth and raise the standard of living in the United States and our NAFTA partners.

Since NAFTA entered into force, average Mexican tariffs on U.S. products have been eliminated, from 10 percent to zero tariffs in 2008, while average U.S. tariffs on Mexican products have fallen from approximately 4 percent to zero percent. As a result, U.S. firms have gained more than a nine-percentage point margin of preference in Mexico over non-NAFTA competitors. Virtually all goods traded between the United States and Canada are free of any tariffs. The U.S. auto, chemical, textiles, and electronics sectors have seen particular benefits from NAFTA. As a result, U.S. goods exports to the NAFTA countries more than doubled between 1993 and 2007, while U.S. exports to the rest of the world rose at a much lower rate. On average, NAFTA trade in goods alone equals approximately $2.5 billion a day. Mexico is America’s third largest trading partner after Canada and China. Imports too have increased, increasing the variety and availability of products throughout the United States, and, thereby, benefiting U.S. consumers with improved choices and prices. Imports are also important to improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies, which have greater choice of inputs. As well, imports play a major role in dampening inflationary pressures and, in turn, helping to keep interest rates low.

Claims that NAFTA has resulted in a massive trade deficit with Mexico, for example, ignore that Mexico suffered a severe (and unrelated) depreciation of its currency soon after the NAFTA was implemented – the so-called peso crisis – making Mexico’s exports to the United States much cheaper. Indeed, in significant part as a result of the NAFTA, Mexico kept its market open and its economy recovered must faster than it had in earlier crises.

Similarly, services trade expanded immensely since the entry-into-force of the NAFTA as a result of the elimination of non-tariff barriers, providing substantial new economic opportunities for U.S. service suppliers. As a result, U.S. cross-border services trade with Canada and Mexico equaled $100 billion in 2006, from $44 billion in 1994. U.S. services exports to these countries equaled $61.7 billion of this services trade in 2006.

Investment flows among the United States, Canada and Mexico have also expanded tremendously after the entry-into-force of the NAFTA, with its strong provisions in increased access for investment and its strong protections for investors, as discussed in section III.1. In particular, U.S. foreign direct investment in the NAFTA countries more than tripled, from $91.2 billion in 1994 to $331 billion in 2006. Investment in the United States by Canada and Mexico has also more than tripled, from $43.3 billion in 1994 to $165 billion in 2006. U.S. investment with its NAFTA partners is second only to U.S. investment flows with the European Union. Such investment has strengthened U.S. industries and promoted greater U.S. exports and opportunities.

During Congressional consideration of NAFTA, proponents and opponents alike made enormous claims of the potential effect of NAFTA on the economies of our countries, our jobs, our labor and environmental conditions and our futures in the global economy. With the benefit of more than 10 years of hindsight, it is clear to most that NAFTA was a major breakthrough for trade and investment liberalization in the region and for the world at large, producing substantial benefits for all three countries and their citizens.

It was a comprehensive agreement, not only covering for the first time all major trade sectors, from goods to services, but covering investment protections and liberalization in the same agreement as well.
The timing of the agreement was very important; indeed, it is cited as a primary reason that Mexico was able to maintain open policies that allowed it to recover from the peso crisis fairly quickly. NAFTA helped to make Mexico’s recession of the mid-90s shorter and less severe than its 1982 recession. NAFTA also helped Mexico withstand internal pressures to impose trade-restrictive measures in response to the recession. As a result, U.S. exports to Mexico recovered within 18 months of the 1995 crisis.
While some argue that the commercial impact has been exaggerated, given that 14 years ago, in 1993, America's GDP was almost 20 times larger than Mexico's, and U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods already averaged a low 4 percent, there can be no question that the U.S. economic relationships with Mexico and Canada are stronger today.
The NAFTA codified and expanded an already vibrant trade relationship. Between 1993 and 2007, the value of two-way U.S. goods trade with Mexico has more than quadrupled. Services trade and investment also increased tremendously.
And contrary to the critics, employment in the United States rose – from 120 million in 1993 to 135 million in 2001, before a drop, caused not by NAFTA, but by broader economic circumstances in the U.S. and global economies.
At the same time, it is clear that trade and investment are not panaceas and that perhaps their most significant effects will require decades to take root. NAFTA did not cause, nor has it solved, for example, many of the economic problems in the agricultural sectors of the three countries. These problems, particularly in Mexico, preexisted NAFTA and will take economic growth and development, which NAFTA can help spur, to resolve.
At the end of 2003, the World Bank published an extensive study on the NAFTA entitled: Lessons from NAFTA for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Countries: A Summary of Research Findings, by Daniel Lederman, William Maloney, and Luis Servén. The report found that:
Other key conclusions of the report include:
- “NAFTA has brought significant economic and social benefits to the Mexican economy.” (pg. viii)
- “Contrary to some predictions, NAFTA has not had a devastating effect on Mexico’s agriculture. In fact, both domestic production and trade in agricultural goods rose during the NAFTA years.” The report goes on to explain why, citing factors as increased demand and productivity (pg. xiii)
- “In spite of popular perception, there is little ground for concerns that NAFTA, or FTAs more generally, are likely to have a detrimental effect on the availability and/or quality of jobs. Consistent with the region-wide evidence, there is little indication of higher unemployment, increased volatility of the labor market, or increased informalization associated with trade liberalization. In fact, Mexican firms, as those of the region, more generally, that are exposed to trade tend to pay higher wages, adjusted for skills, are more formal, and invest more in training.” (pp. xx-xxi)

Moving beyond the commercial aspects, there are also extremely important regional and foreign policy benefits that NAFTA helped to foster. While not the sole or even greatest influence, NAFTA – through its encouragement of economic cooperation and transparency – was, nonetheless, a major contributing factor in Mexico’s move towards a more mature and open democracy and towards modernizing and liberalizing its overall economy.

Mexico’s leadership in promoting trade and investment liberalization in the region and beyond can also be in part attributed to NAFTA and the habits it spurred in Mexico. Mexico now has more regional FTAs than the United States, with countries as diverse as Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and Brazil. It is also playing an important role in the WTO.

In March 23, 2005, Prime Minister Martin, President Bush and President Fox announced the establishment of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) to further enhance the security of North America and promote the economic well being of citizens. Key initiatives to be undertaken pursuant to the SPP include:

Regulatory cooperation to generate growth
Sectoral collaboration to facilitate business
Investing in people through partnerships in education, science and technology
Reducing the cost of doing business, through the more efficient movement of goods and people
Joint stewardship of the North American environment
Creating a safer and more reliable food supply while facilitating agricultural trade
Enhancing public health cross-border coordination

The SPP and other initiatives represent extremely important activities that can build upon the successes of NAFTA and enhance economic growth and prosperity among the NAFTA countries.

Final NAFTA Implementation – Sugar

Under the terms of NAFTA, sugar and sweetener trade were completely opened between the United States and Mexico on January 1, 2008. This final transition represents a very important step toward enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. processed food sector, particularly the sweetener-using segment that has lost thousands of jobs due to high domestic sugar prices. The U.S. sugar program is estimated to cost the broader U.S. economy $1.9 billion.

Access to Mexican sugar helps to ameliorate some of these costs and serves as a catalyst for long overdue reform of the program. It is very important, as well, for the credibility of the United States to implement fully its commitments on sugar and sweetener trade. Failure to implement fully, as some recent private-sector proposals seek, would send the wrong message to U.S. trading partners, particularly those that the United States is pressing to implement fully their own commitments under agreements with the United States.

In addition, any U.S. failure to keep its border open to Mexican sugar would likely be met with retaliation against U.S. exports of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other U.S. farm and manufactured goods to Mexico.

NAFTA Dispute Settlement – Chapter 20

Chapter 20 of NAFTA provides for the settlement of all disputes relating to the interpretation of NAFTA, with the exception of matters covered in Chapter 11 (Investment), Chapter 14 (Financial Services) and Chapter 19 (Antidumping and Countervailing Duty final determinations). If disputes are not settled through consultation, either Party may refer the issue to a non-binding panel. Three cases have been completed under this process – the United States’ challenge to Canadian agricultural tariffs, Mexico’s challenge to the U.S. safeguard on broom corn brooms, and, most recently, Mexico’s challenge to U.S. restrictions on cross-border trucking services (which is discussed below under trade issues with Mexico).

NAFTA Dispute Settlement – Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of NAFTA provides a process for independent binational panels to review U.S. and Mexican determinations in antidumping and countervailing duty cases in lieu of judicial review in national courts. Chapter 19 does not require the United States to make any substantive changes in its antidumping or countervailing duty laws, but it did require Mexico to implement procedural reforms guaranteeing U.S. exporters effective judicial review. The Chapter 19 review process is based on a similar mechanism applied under the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

The NAFTA working group on dispute settlement is continuing to examine ways to improve the Chapter 19 dispute settlement process, including addressing problems associated with delays in the Chapter 19 review process arising from inadequate funding, problems in selecting panelists, transparency issues, and translation difficulties.

On September 13, 2005, a coalition of some U.S. lumber producers filed a constitutional challenge to NAFTA Chapter 19, arguing that the grant of judicial powers to the binational panels violated the Due Process clause, the Appointments clause and other parts of Article II and Article III of the U.S. Constitution. This case was dismissed after the United States and Canada reached a settlement of the softwood lumber dispute, as discussed below.

NAFTA Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of NAFTA sets forth the Parties’ obligations with respect to investment and related issues. It requires the Parties to eliminate barriers and adopt market-oriented domestic policies that treat investment fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. It also establishes a fair and objective dispute settlement mechanism that provides investors the ability to seek review of investment disputes before neutral international arbitration tribunals. A full discussion of the NAFTA Chapter 11 commitments, recent cases and the basic investment provisions is found in section III.1.

NAFTA and the Environment

The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) created the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and aims to foster the protection and improvement of the environment in the United States, Canada, and

Mexico through cooperative activities and the creation of a system for addressing environmental disputes. The agreement explicitly provides that each of the member countries retains the right to set its own environmental standards; it requires only that the three countries ensure that their environmental laws are adequately enforced and provide access, transparency, and due process. The NAAEC promotes cooperative activities to foster the protection and improvement of the North American environment. It also established two dispute-resolution procedures to address allegations that a country has failed to enforce its environmental laws – a government-to-government procedure (with the possibility of fines and the suspension of NAFTA benefits) and a review of complaints submitted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (with the possibility of a factual record being prepared on the issue, but no possibility of fines or sanctions).

The CEC, which oversees implementation of the agreement, is a trinational organization composed of a governing Council of the environmental ministers from each country and a Secretariat located in Montreal. Since its establishment, the CEC has engaged in a wide variety of cooperative activities focusing on environmental conservation, water use, human health, law enforcement and public outreach. It has developed trilateral action plans to eliminate toxic chemicals in the North American environment and promoted species and habitat protection. In December 2002, it adopted a 2003-2005 Program Plan, under which it will focus on four core areas: the environment, economy and trade; conservation of biodiversity; pollutants and health; and law and policy. To help carry out its mandate, the CEC created the North American Fund for Environmental Cooperation (NAFEC) in 1995 to provide community-based grants. Between 1995 and 2003 when its operations were closed, the NAFEC, issued over 196 grants totaling more than $9 million.

No Party has requested government-to-government consultations. Through March 2008, there have been, however, 60 citizen submissions, 13 of which have resulted in the CEC preparing factual records.

The United States and Mexico also created the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADB) in 1993 to help border communities with environmental infrastructure projects. The BECC provides technical assistance and grants to border communities and certifies environmental infrastructure projects for financing consideration by the NADB. The NADB facilitates financing for the implementation of projects certified by the BECC, provides financial and managerial guidance, structures financial packages and provides loans to fill financing gaps. The NADB also administers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s grant resources for the border region. Both the BECC and NADB focus on communities located within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico shared border. The BECC has help promote over 136 projects, with a total cost of approximately $2.89 billion. The BECC’s technical assistance program has already allocated more than $33.5 million to the development of 255 environmental infrastructure projects and the NADB has authorized $21.6 million for institutional strengthening and project-development studies for border communities.

NAFTA and Labor

The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) created the Commission for Labor Cooperation (CLC) and aims to improve working conditions in the three NAFTA countries and promote core labor standards. The NAALC explicitly provides that each country retains the right to set its own labor standards but commits the three NAFTA countries to ensure that their own labor laws are adequately enforced. The NAALC aims to promote cooperative activities among the three NAFTA countries to improve working conditions and promote core labor standards. It established two procedures for reviewing a country’s compliance with its labor standards: (1) a government-to-government dispute-settlement system that could result in fines or the suspension of NAFTA benefits for a country’s persistent failure to enforce its labor laws with respect to occupational safety and health, child labor, minimum wage, and technical labor standards, and (2) a process for reviewing complaints by private parties (with no possibility of fines or sanctions). The CLC, which oversees implementation of the Agreement, is a trinational organization composed of a governing Council of the labor ministers from each country and a Secretariat based in Dallas, Texas. Each country has also set up a National Administrative Office (NAO) to coordinate participation in the Agreement and to review complaints.

Since its formation, the NAALC has engaged in a wide range of cooperative activities, including seminars, training sessions, exchanges of professional and technical delegations, and joint reports. No government-to-government consultations have been requested under the dispute-settlement system. To date, more than two-dozen cases have been filed by private parties under the NAALC, covering issues ranging from freedom of association and illegal use of child labor to allegations that manufacturers in Mexico discriminate against pregnant women.

ECAT Position: ECAT finds that NAFTA has produced substantial increases in trade and investment among the United States, Canada and Mexico, in a manner that has promoted significant economic opportunities, increased economic growth and a higher standard of living. ECAT strongly supports the full implementation of NAFTA, including with respect to duty-free, quota-free access for Mexican sugar, which began on January 1, 2008. While not a panacea for all issues in the trilateral relationship, NAFTA has helped promote greater respect for the rule of law and improved cooperation on environmental and labor issues. ECAT also strongly supports work to build upon NAFTA, including the Security and Prosperity Partnership between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Canada

Canada remains America’s largest trading partner, accounting for two-way goods trade of nearly $561 billion in 2007 and $62.8 billion in services trade in 2006. Bilateral investment flows have also expanded to over $405 billion in 2006. The United States and Canadian economies are more integrated than ever. Both countries also share common interests in pursuing FTAA negotiations and achieving a successful WTO round.

Bilateral relations with Canada are frustrated, however, by several ongoing disputes as discussed below. ECAT urges greater efforts to resolve these issues quickly and without damaging important cross-border trade and investment that promote economic opportunity, economic growth and a high standard of living for both the United States and Canada.

U.S.-Canadian Trade and Investment

U.S. goods exports to Canada in 2007 equaled $248.4 billion, an almost 150-percent increase over U.S. exports to Canada in 1993 (before NAFTA entered into force) of $100 billion. Primary exports in 2007 included vehicles, machinery, plastics, fuel products and medical instruments. U.S goods imports from Canada grew to $313.1 billion in 2007, a 182-percent increase over U.S. imports from Canada in 1993 of $110.9 billion. The United States’ primary imports from Canada were oil and energy products, followed by vehicles, machinery, plastics, wood and wood products, and paper products. Approximately $67 billion (or one-third) of the total increase in U.S. imports from Canada since 1993 is accounted for by oil and energy imports, which represent 25 percent of all U.S. goods imports from Canada in 2007.

Services trade grew to $62.8 billion in 2006, more than doubling from $26 billion in 1993. U.S. services exports to Canada in 2006 equaled $39.3 billion, while Canada’s services exports to the United States in the same year totaled $23.5 billion.

Investment flows have also grown, with U.S. foreign direct investment in Canada expanding from $74 billion in 1993 to $246.5 billion in 2006. Canadian investment in the United States also grew, from $41 billion in 1993 to $159 billion in 2006.

Major U.S.-Canadian Trade Issues

Over recent years, the United States and Canada have had trade and investment disputes in a number of areas. Some, such as Canada’s export subsidies on dairy, have been largely resolved through the WTO and NAFTA dispute-settlement processes. While the United States and Canada reached resolution on the longstanding softwood-lumber dispute in 2006, disagreements have continued to arise. Canadian agricultural barriers continue to limit U.S. access. Increasingly, there is also concern with Canada’s intellectual-property protection and enforcement.

Softwood Lumber

Over more than a decade, a coalition of some U.S. lumber producers has brought repeated cases under the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty law seeking the imposition of duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber to offset what they view as unfair subsidies and price practices arising from Canadian government-set stumpage prices and provincial log-export restrictions. The Canadian industry and government adamantly disagree with the suggestion that their practices result in subsidies and argue that antidumping duties are not appropriate given the significant openness of both the U.S. and Canadian trading sectors.

In 1996, the United States and Canada concluded the U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement, under which Canada agreed to impose fees on softwood lumber exports from four Canadian provinces in return for a commitment from the United States to refrain from initiating any unfair trade cases against the Canadian softwood lumber sector for five years.

Following the March 31, 2001, expiration of the Softwood Lumber Agreement, a coalition of some U.S. lumber producers filed antidumping and countervailing duty cases against softwood lumber imports from Canada. The U.S. Commerce Department announced final countervailing duties of 19.34 percent and final antidumping duties of 2.26 percent to 15.83 percent on March 22, 2002, and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made affirmative determinations, allowing the imposition of final duties. In response, Canada filed numerous WTO and NAFTA challenges against both the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases, including the calculation of margins and the finding of threat of material injury. As a result of the NAFTA cases, the ITC reversed its finding of injury and the U.S. Commerce Department reduced the countervailing duty to a de minimis level and also significantly lowered the antidumping margin. The NAFTA Extraordinary Challenge Committee (ECC), that was requested by the U.S. Government, upheld the NAFTA panel decision on injury.

At the same time, a separate WTO panel reached similar conclusions regarding flaws in the U.S. injury decision, which required the ITC to review its findings and issue a new decision, where it found that softwood lumber imports threatened injury to the U.S. lumber industry. The WTO panel reviewing the new ITC decision upheld the decision as compliant with WTO rules. Canada also successfully challenged the antidumping and countervailing duty calculations in the WTO, resulting in a lowering of duties.

After extensive negotiations, the U.S. and Canadian governments reached the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) on September 12, 2006, which entered into force on October 12, 2006. In principal part, the SLA:

Requires the termination of a large portion of the litigation over trade in softwood lumber.
Provides for Canadian exporting provinces to choose either to collect an export tax that ranges from 5-to-15 percent as prices fall or to collect lower export taxes and limit export volumes when the lumber market is soft.
Includes import-surge provisions that provide for effective dispute settlement.
Provides for the distribution of the antidumping and countervailing duty deposits currently held by the United States.
Prohibits trade cases during the term of the SLA and for a period thereafter.
Provides for the creation of an industry-led bi-national working group to discuss provincial policy reforms.

In late March 2007, the United States requested formal consultations under the Softwood Lumber Agreement, arguing that Canada had failed to meet its obligations to restrain lumber exports and was improperly providing federal and provincial aid to lumber producers. The resulting arbitration led to a mixed decision in March 2008, where arbitrators found that Canada had not violated the Agreement in terms of its export tax collections, but that it had improperly failed to limit the quantity of its exports to the United States. In January 2008, the United States filed a second arbitration alleging that certain assistance to Canadian lumber producers violates the agreement.

Agricultural Barriers

Canada continues to maintain a variety of barriers that limit access of U.S. farm products, including varietal controls on grain products, as well as restrictions on dairy, eggs and poultry through tariff-rate quotas. Concerns exist as well regarding Canada’s state-run Wheat Board and its effect on access by U.S. wheat exporters. Work will continue bilaterally on these issues, as well as through the broader WTO negotiations.

Intellectual-Property Protection and Enforcement

Canada remained listed on the U.S. 2007 Special 301 Watch list as a result of significant concern over several aspects of Canada’s protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Of particular concern is Canada’s inadequate protection of trademarks and its failure to ratify either the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty or the WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty, discussed in section III.4. As well, Canada has generally weak enforcement, particularly at the border were its Customs officers lack ex officio authority, which limits their ability to seize pirated or counterfeit products. ECAT welcomes Canada’s adoption of anti-camcording legislation in 2007 and looks forward to its full enforcement.

Canadian Trade Agreements and Negotiations

Canada is also continuing to seek out other countries with which to negotiate free trade agreements in order to build on NAFTA, Canada’s free trade agreement with Israel, and its NAFTA-like agreement with Chile. In 2001, Canada concluded an FTA with Costa Rica. Canada and the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) signed an FTA in January 2008. Canada has concluded FTA negotiations with Peru and is in negotiations with CARICOM, Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua), Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Korea, and Singapore.

Mexico

U.S. trade with Mexico has grown significantly since the implementation of NAFTA. Mexico has surpassed Japan to become America’s second-largest goods-export market and third-largest trading partner. Services trade and investment flows have also increased significantly.

Both countries also share common interests in pursuing FTAA negotiations and achieving a successful WTO round. Bilateral relations with Mexico are frustrated, however, by several ongoing disputes. ECAT urges continued efforts to resolve these issues quickly and a continued focus on creating new opportunities and economic growth to support increases in the standard of living of both countries.

U.S.-Mexican Trade and Investment

Both U.S. exports and imports have increased substantially, growing from $81 billion in 1993 (before NAFTA entered into force) to $347 billion in 2007. The United States exported $137 billion in goods to Mexico in 2007, more than double U.S. exports to Japan in 2006 of almost $63 billion. Primary U.S. exports to Mexico in 2007 included machinery, vehicles, plastics, fuel products, medical instruments, chemicals and paper products. U.S. goods imports from Mexico totaled $210.8 billion in 2007. Energy imports accounted for almost 16 percent of all U.S. goods imports from Mexico in 2007.

U.S. services exports to Mexico have grown significantly to $22.4 billion in 2006 from $10.9 billion in 1993. Mexican services exports to the United States have also increased, from $7.4 billion in 1993 to $14.8 billion in 2006.

Investment flows have also expanded, with U.S. foreign investment in Mexico of $84.7 billion in 2006, nearly five times the $17 billion in investment in 1993. Mexican investment in the United States has also expanded, from $2 billion in 1993 to $6.1 billion in 2006. As explained in section I.1, the expansion of trade and investment produces economic growth, as well as a higher standard of living.

Major U.S.-Mexican Trade Issues

The United States and Mexico are continuing work to resolve several important trade disputes, including the United States’ cross-border trucking restrictions, Mexico’s failure to enforce fully its intellectual-property commitments and discrimination in Mexico’s telecommunications sector.

Cross-Border Trucking

The final report in Mexico’s NAFTA Chapter 20 challenge to the United States’ restrictions of cross-border trucking services was issued on February 6, 2001. The Panel unanimously found that the United States had not adequately implemented its commitment to open cross-border trucking services to Mexico as required under the NAFTA. (The NAFTA required the United States to allow Mexican trucks in four border states by 1995 and the entire United States by 2000. The Clinton Administration had refused to implement this provision, arguing that Mexican trucks were unsafe.)

While the Panel decision upholds the principle that the United States can impose its own safety requirements, the Panel found that the blanket exclusion of Mexican trucks was unjustified. At the U.S.-Mexican summit on February 16, 2001, Presidents Bush and Fox issued a joint communiqué stating that the two governments would begin “immediate discussions” to implement the NAFTA panel decision. After extensive discussion between the Administration and Congress throughout 2001, House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise agreement on the imposition of safety measures to implement the NAFTA panel ruling in November 2001. Included as part of the conference report to the Transportation Appropriations Act (H.R. 2299), the compromise requires the Administration to carry out certain safety precautions before Mexican trucks can enter the United States, including safety inspections, a certification by the Secretary of Transportation that Mexican trucks do not pose an unacceptable safety risk, an electronic verification of the validity of Mexican licenses and the establishment of a system for giving each truck a unique Department of Transportation number. The legislation also requires physical inspections of trucks every 90 days. The Transportation Department Inspector General must also conduct an audit of the U.S. government’s ability to enforce the safety standards on Mexican trucks before they can operate in the United States.

The Department of Transportation issued final rules to implement this legislation in November 2002, and the Administration lifted the U.S. ban. In June 2004, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had blocked the lifting of the ban. In order to be eligible to enter the United States, Mexican trucks must first undergo mandatory inspections, which Mexico has resisted.

Following further legal reviews and decisions, the United States began implementing its NAFTA trucking commitments by initiating the Cross-Border Trucking Pilot Program in September 2007. Under this program, the United States permitted entry to Mexican long-haul trucking companies that have met safety, licensing, and other U.S. requirements. Mexico is also required to give U.S. trucks reciprocal access.

In late 2007, a few members of Congress sought to block the implementation of these commitments by prohibiting the “establishment” of a program to allow Mexican trucks to enter the United States. The pilot project, which had been established prior to the legislation, is continuing.

ECAT strongly supports the United States’ full implementation of its NAFTA trucking commitment. As is clear from the original NAFTA dispute-settlement case, the United States maintains the ability to implement this commitment in a manner that ensures the high standards of safety that the United States wants to maintain.

Intellectual-Property Protection

Under both the NAFTA and the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Mexico has undertaken fairly extensive commitments to ensure strong protections for intellectual property rights. While Mexico has adopted numerous laws and increased enforcement, Mexico continues to fall short of key commitments. In particular, Mexico needs to improve the coordination of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, which approves patents, and the Secretariat of Health to ensure that the latter agency does not approve for sale patented products by non-patent holders. Mexico also needs to enact legislation to ensure that copies of patented products are not allowed on the market prior to patent expiration and the protection of test data for at least five years. As well, Mexico needs to ensure improved enforcement of its copyright, anti-piracy and other intellectual property laws and adopt anti-camcording legislation.

Trade-Remedy Cases

Mexico has conducted numerous antidumping cases involving goods from the United States, including high fructose corn syrup, rice, beef and pork. The United States successfully challenged several cases at the WTO. In particular, concerns have arisen in several Mexican trade-remedy cases over the transparency and conduct of these cases. ECAT urges continued efforts to resolve these issues quickly and a continued focus on creating opportunities and economic growth that increase the living standards of both countries.

Mexican Trade Agreements and Negotiations

Mexico continues its extensive efforts to negotiate free trade agreements. It currently has FTAs and similar bilateral agreements with: Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Nicaragua, and Uruguay and agreements with the following groupings:

Bolivia and Colombia (the G-3);
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras;
the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland);
the European Union; and
Mercosur.

Mexico is also negotiating a trade agreement with Korea.

Central America and the Caribbean Basin

In 1983, the United States sought to spur economic growth and development in the countries of Central America and the Caribbean Basin through the grant of special trade preferences under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). This program provided duty-free entry to many imports from the following 24 countries in Central America and the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the British Virgin Islands. In 2000, duty-free benefits were expanded to products not eligible for the original CBERA benefits, as described below.

Total U.S. trade with the countries of the Caribbean and Central America has increased more than five-fold 1990 and 2007. In particular, U.S. goods exports to the 24 countries of the region have grown from $7.7 billion in 1990 to $38.3 billion in 2007. Imports of goods have followed a similar course, reaching $33.7 billion in 2007.

Implementation of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

After several years of Congressional review and consideration, the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) was enacted as part of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 to provide duty-free, quota-free treatment for certain apparel products from eligible Caribbean Basin countries and to provide duty-free treatment for products not eligible for duty-free treatment under CBERA through September 30, 2008. The primary provisions are as follows:

Eligibility Criteria: In determining whether Caribbean Basin countries will be eligible for CBTPA benefits, the President must find that a country has met the eligibility criteria under the CBERA and must take into account several additional factors, including a country’s commitment to undertake WTO obligations and participate in FTAA negotiations, protection of intellectual property and internationally recognized worker rights, participation in the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, and government procurement practices.
Textile and Apparel Provisions: The CBTPA provides duty-free, quota-free treatment for the following articles:
- apparel assembled in a CBTPA country made from U.S. fabric that is made from U.S. yarn;
- apparel cut and assembled in a CBTPA country from U.S. fabric that is formed from U.S. yarn, if the articles are also assembled with U.S.-formed thread;
- certain apparel knit-to-shape in a CBTPA country from U.S.-formed yarn and knit apparel articles cut and wholly assembled in CBTPA countries from U.S. or regional fabric that is made from U.S. yarn. Knit apparel products are capped at 250 million square meter equivalents and outerwear T-shirts are capped at 4.2 million dozen, with an annual increase of 16 percent for the first four years of the program;
- certain brassieres;
- certain apparel that is both cut (or knit-to-shape) and sewn or otherwise assembled in a CBTPA country from fibers, fabric, or yarn not available in commercial quantities in the United States; and
- certain textile luggage.
Safeguards against Import Surges and Transshipment: The CBTPA provides for a snapback of the tariff preferences on textiles and apparel if import surges cause serious damage to the U.S. industry. The CBTPA also authorizes the denial of trade benefits to exporters found to be involved in transshipment and the reduction of benefits for countries that fail to prevent transshipment.
Additional Tariff Preferences: The CBTPA provides additional tariff benefits to other products not currently eligible for tariff preferences under the 1983 CBERA, including canned tuna, certain footwear, petroleum and petroleum products, certain watches and watch parts, and certain leather goods. Tariffs on these products are reduced to the rate that applies to imports from Mexico.
Customs Procedures: The CBTPA requires beneficiary countries and importers claiming CBTPA tariff benefits to comply with customs procedures, including requirements for certificates of origin, equivalent to those required under the NAFTA.

As part of the Trade Act of 2002, Congress amended the CBTPA to provide that the benefits with respect to textile and apparel goods made from U.S. fabrics would only be available if the fabric were dyed and finished in the United States. This modification unfortunately narrows the benefits provided by the original legislation. Congress also amended the Act to clarify that knit-to-shape products are eligible for duty-free, quota-free treatment, contrary to an earlier Customs Service interim ruling.

Following enactment of CBTPA, all 24 countries were found to be eligible for CBTPA’s benefits (following, in some cases, additional commitments regarding labor, anticorruption and other issues). Designated Caribbean countries also became eligible for most duty-free treatment effective December 21, 2000. Designated countries are only eligible for the duty-free apparel benefits after the Administration determines that they have implemented provisions to comply with the certificate-of-origin requirements. The following countries were designated as eligible for the apparel benefits: Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Santa Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

On October 5, 2000, the U.S. Customs Service (now Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published interim rules to implement the benefits of CBTPA and the Africa trade bill discussed below. These rules have yet to be finalized, which has limited the full benefits available under CBTPA.

In 2004, the United States signed the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), which was ratified by the United States and five of the other parties (Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua); Costa Rica has ratified the CAFTA as discussed in section II.2 and is taking steps to implement all of its commitments, prior to CAFTA’s entry-into-force with respect to Costa Rica..

As discussed in section IIII.2, Congress passed in December 2006, new legislation extending additional benefits to Haiti, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (“HOPE”) Act. Both CBTPA and the HOPE Act expire on September 30, 2008. ECAT supports the renewal and improvement of these programs.

ECAT Position: ECAT supports U.S. efforts to promote greater economic reform and growth in Central America and the Caribbean Basin. In particular, ECAT supports the renewal and full implementation of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Act in a manner that will promote greater U.S. trade with the Caribbean Basin. ECAT remains concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is interpreting CBTPA in a manner that is not consistent with the legislative intent of the Act. ECAT also supports U.S. efforts to promote a level playing field and transparency in Central America and the Caribbean Basin countries, aiming at improving the business outlook and protecting existing and future investment made by U.S. companies.

Andean Pact Countries

Established in 1991 to help combat drug trafficking in the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) was expanded and renewed in the Trade Act of 2002 by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). The renamed ATPDEA expanded economic and trade incentives for the four Andean countries to encourage their production of legitimate products and help them move out of the drug trade. In February 2008, Congress passed and the President signed a 10-month extension of the ATPDEA, after short-term extensions approved by Congress in 2006 and 2007.

As discussed in section II.2, ECAT strongly supports the trade promotion agreements (TPAs) with Peru and Colombia that will establish stronger ties and make these relationships reciprocal. It is expected that the U.S.-Peru TPA will enter into force this year following its approval by the U.S. Congress in 2007 and Peru’s ongoing work to implement fully the agreement. ECAT also is strongly seeking Congressional approval and entry-into-force of the U.S.-Colombia TPA as early as possible this year. Once these agreements have entered into force, both Peru and Colombia will graduate from ATPDEA.

At the same time, ECAT remains very concerned the actions by the governments of Ecuador and Bolivia are not in keeping with the eligibility requirements of ATPDEA, other obligations or basic rules of fairness. ECAT is particularly concerned that Ecuador is failing to abide by its commitments in the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty. To be eligible for continued preferences, both countries need to improve their respect for commitments made and the rule of law.

U.S.-Andean Trade and Investment

U.S. goods exports to the Andean countries totaled almost $15.9 billion in 2007, a 26-percent increase over 2006 exports $12.6 billion. Imports from these countries equaled nearly $21.2 billion in 2007, registering a small decline from 2006. U.S. foreign direct investment in the Andean countries totaled over $10 billion in 2006, with most investment in Peru (nearly $5 billion) and Colombia ($4.9 billion).

Background on Andean Trade Preferences

ATPDEA authorizes the President to grant duty-free treatment to ATPDEA beneficiary countries for non-import-sensitive items, including those that were excluded from the original ATPA legislation, including specified footwear, petroleum products, watches and watch parts, handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, leather wearing apparel, and certain tuna in foil or certain flexible containers (if harvested by U.S. vessels or ATPDEA beneficiary-country vessels).

The ATPAEA provides duty-free, quota-free treatment for apparel articles sewn or assembled in one or more ATPDEA countries or the United States from any combination of the following:

Fabrics wholly formed or knit-to-shape in the United States from yarns formed in the United States or ATPDEA beneficiary countries (with all dyeing and finishing in the United States).
Fabrics formed or knit-to-shape from yarns from ATPDEA beneficiary countries if such fabrics are in chief value from llama, alpaca, or vicuna wools.
Fabrics or yarn not produced in the United States or in the region, to the extent that apparel articles of such fabrics or yarn would be eligible for preferential treatment, without regard to the source of the fabrics or yarn, under Annex 401 of NAFTA (short-supply provisions).
Apparel articles sewn or otherwise assembled in one or more beneficiary countries from fabrics or fabric components formed or components knit-to-shape, in one or more beneficiary countries, from yarns formed in the United States or in one or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, whether or not the apparel articles are also made from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape in the United States. Imports of apparel made from regional fabric and regional yarn would be capped at 3 percent of U.S. imports, growing to 6 percent of U.S. imports in 2006, measured in square meter equivalents.
Certain textile luggage.

The ATPDEA directs the Commissioner of Customs to study and report to Congress on the extent to which each ATPDEA beneficiary country has cooperated fully with the United States with regard to circumvention of existing quotas on imports of textile and apparel goods.

In designating beneficiary countries, the President was directed to consider certain criteria, including: (1) whether the country has demonstrated a commitment to undertake its obligations under the WTO and to participate in negotiations toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA); (2) the extent to which the country provides protection of intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than that required under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; (3) the extent to which the country provides internationally recognized worker rights; (4) whether the country has implemented its commitment to eliminate the worst forms of child labor; (5) the extent to which the country cooperates with the United States in counter-narcotics efforts; (6) the extent to which the country has taken steps to become a party to and implement the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption; (7) the extent to which the country applies transparent, nondiscriminatory, and competitive procedures in government procurement and contributes to international efforts to enhance transparency in government procurement; and (8) the extent to which the country has taken steps to support U.S. efforts to combat terrorism. On October 31, 2002, the President designated Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as generally eligible for the benefits under the ATPDEA, as well as eligible for the textile and apparel benefits. The President authorized duty-free treatment for over 600 products and did not designate any products as import-sensitive.

ECAT Position: ECAT strongly supports Congressional approval of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and the entry-into-force of this agreement and the already approved U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in a manner that will promote market access and strong rules, including on investment, intellectual-property protection and transparency. Continuation of the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) benefits to these countries is important until entry-into-force of these agreements is achieved, but should not be used as an excuse not to move to a fully reciprocal relationship. ECAT also urges continued work to ensure that Ecuador and Bolivia abide by their trade and investment commitments and meet the other eligibility criteria on intellectual property and other issues as required by the ATPDEA.

MERCOSUR and Brazil

Established in 1991, the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercado Comun de Sur, MERCOSUR), made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is the largest economic grouping within Latin America, comprising over 210 million people. Following the creation of a free trade area in goods in 1995 (when most duties were phased out for intra-regional trade), MERCOSUR countries continued work on creating a common market by establishing common external tariffs, ranging from zero to 20 percent on most goods. Some goods remain outside the common external tariff structure and will gradually be covered, including capital goods and certain information technology goods.

In 1997, MERCOSUR countries signed an agreement on trade in services to provide each other most-favored-nation treatment with respect to service providers. In December 2000, at the MERCOSUR Presidential Summit, the four MERCOSUR members agreed to a six-year phase-in of automobile trade into the common external tariff, with Argentina and Brazil agreeing to an immediate 35-percent common external tariff on passenger vehicles. Argentina and Brazil are continuing negotiations to extend the transition to free trade under the MERCOSUR automobile provisions.

Trade within MERCOSUR has grown five-fold, since its creation in 1991. In the past few years, however, trade disputes over textiles, pork, poultry, steel, and footwear products have strained relations among MERCOSUR members. In 1998-99, for example, MERCOSUR countries relied upon a three-member Tribunal to resolve disputes over Brazil’s imposition of licensing restrictions on various imports. This was the first time that MERCOSUR countries resorted to this dispute settlement mechanism since its creation in 1994.

In 2001, MERCOSUR faced significant pressure as a result of Argentina’s deepening financial crisis. Argentina had considered whether to withdraw from MERCOSUR’s common external tariff, but in an October 2001 agreement with Brazil, agreed not to do so in exchange for Brazil’s willingness to discuss Argentina’s proposed safeguard measure on Brazilian imports. Discussions are ongoing.

U.S.-MERCOSUR Trade and Investment

U.S. trade with MERCOSUR countries has more than tripled since 1990, from $16 billion to $63.1 billion in 2007. U.S. goods exports to MERCOSUR countries totaled $32.4 billion, an increase of 27.6 percent over 2006 exports of $25.4 billion. U.S. goods imports from the MERCOSUR countries equaled $30.7 billion in 2007, having registered a small decline from 2006. U.S. services exports totaled over $9.8 billion, and services imports totaled over $3.6 billion in 2006. U.S. foreign direct investment in MERCOSUR countries equaled $46.3 billion in 2006, with 70 percent of the investment in Brazil.

As part of the so-called Four Plus One framework (initiated in 1991), the United States and MERCOSUR resumed meeting more regularly in September 2001. The Four Plus One met in April 2002 and continued its agenda of discussing multilateral trade and other issues, with working groups on agricultural trade, industrial trade, investment, development and electronic commerce.

The United States and the MERCOSUR countries have a number on ongoing trade issues. Importantly, the United States and Brazil and, to a lesser extent, the other MERCOSUR countries, continue to have differing views on how to proceed with the Free Trade Area of the Americas, as discussed in more detail in section II.2.

With respect to Argentina, U.S. companies have been adversely affected by Argentina’s asymmetrical pesification policies and are pursuing a number of investment cases pursuant to the U.S-Argentina Bilateral Investment Treaty.

As discussed in section II.1, ECAT is also seeking the elimination of Argentina’s differential export taxes (DETs) as part of the WTO Doha negotiations. These DETs effectively operate as export subsidies for further value-added agricultural products, such as refined soybean oil or biodiesel.

U.S.-Brazil Trade and Investment

As the fifth largest country and the 10th largest economy, Brazil represents an important U.S. trading partner. In 2007, Brazil was the United States’ 13th largest trading partner, with U.S. exports to Brazil reaching $24.6 billion and U.S. imports from Brazil equaling $25.6 billion. Major U.S. exports include machinery, aircraft, chemicals, electrical machinery, plastics and medical equipment. Approximately 15 percent of imports from Brazil consist of fuels. The United States also imports iron and steel, machinery, wood, electrical machinery and equipment and vehicles. U.S. services exports to Brazil reached $7.6 billion in 2007 and U.S. services imports from Brazil equaled $2.8 billion. U.S. investment in Brazil totaled $32.6 billion in 2007, while Brazilian investment in the United States equaled $2.1 billion.

In June 2006, the United States and Brazil established the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue to stimulate trade and investment. The Dialogue will focus on a number of issues, including business facilitation, export and investment promotion, intellectual property protection, and standards. The Dialogue has been convened several times in 2006 and 2007.

In March 2007, the United States and Brazil agreed to the establishment of thee U.S.–Brazil CEO Forum, which will bring together public officials and private sector business leaders to help strengthen the U.S.-Brazil bilateral economic and commercial relationship. . The United States and Brazil convened the first CEO Forum in Brazil in October 2007. Among the recommendations made were for the United States and Brazil to finalize a bilateral tax treaty to promote investment and trade. As discussed in section III.9, ECAT strongly supports the conclusion of such a tax treaty. Other recommendations pertained to other areas for focus, including investment protection, infrastructure, biofuels, customs modernization and support of innovation through intellectual property protection. The next CEO Forum will be held in the United States in mid-2008.

The United States and Brazil have begun exploring ways to expand their bilateral investment relationship. As discussed in section III.1, ECAT strongly supports the conclusion of such high-standard U.S.-Brazil bilateral investment treaty that would provide important access and benefits to U.S. investors and greatly expand U.S. economic opportunities in Brazil.

Several ongoing disputes remain in the U.S.-Brazil trading relationship, with U.S. concerns including the existence of major non-tariff barriers, including licenses, registration and similar barriers; non-transparent government procurement practices; unscientific barriers to agricultural trade; and investment and other barriers. There are also significant concerns over Brazil’s protection of intellectual property rights.

In March 2005, the WTO Appellate Body largely upheld Brazil’s challenge that U.S. farm programs unfairly subsidize cotton, contrary to U.S. commitments. The United States repealed the Step 2 program for cotton as part of the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005, effective August 1, 2006. As a result, export subsidies and import-substitution subsidies are terminated. Brazil challenged the United States’ implementation of the WTO decisions, and a WTO panel found in December 2007 that the United States had not fully complied. In February 2008, the United States appealed this ruling to the WTO Appellate Body.

As discussed in section II.1, ECAT is also seeking the elimination of Brazil’s differential export taxes (DETs) as part of the WTO Doha negotiations. These DETs effectively operate as export subsidies for further value-added agricultural products, such as refined biodiesel.

MERCOSUR Trade Agreements and Negotiations

MERCOSUR has undertaken active trade negotiations with numerous countries. It has admitted Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as associate members. In 2005, Venezuela was accepted for “special member” status in MERCOSUR, although that status has not yet been ratified by Brazil and necessary negotiations to harmonize Venezuela’s tariffs have progressed slowly.

MERCOSUR and the Southern African Customs Union concluded a preferential trade agreement in 2004. MERCOSUR and the EU have completed a framework cooperation agreement. MERCOSUR and Israel signed a trade agreement in December 2007. Currently, MERCOSUR is negotiating, as a bloc, bilateral free trade agreements with other blocs such as CARICOM, the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is also seeking an FTA with the Dominican Republic. The coverage of each of these agreements varies and, in general, is much less comprehensive than a typical U.S. FTA.