United States Israel Free Trade Area Agreement

In this conference volume, distinguished economists and trade policymakers address the US initiatives to enter into free trade negotiations with a broad range of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the Western Hemisphere, and Africa. The sheer number of these initiatives is unprecedented and has provoked major policy questions concerning US interests in the negotiations, the setting of priorities among the many contenders for concluding free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States, the objectives of those trading partners, and the implications that these agreements could have for broader initiatives such as the Doha Round in the World Trade Organization and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The papers in the volume were presented during a conference on FTAs and US trade policy, sponsored by the Institute in May 2003. The editor, Jeffrey Schott, summarizes the policy implications drawn from the conference papers and discussions, which are organized around several topics: the conceptual case for FTAs and how they have worked in the past; what FTAs imply for the broader global system; the specific agreements that are already being pursued (Australia, Central America, Morocco, southern Africa) or considered (ASEAN, Brazil, Egypt, Korea, and Taiwan). The volume includes a technical appendix with results of GTAP and gravity model simulations of the trade and welfare effects of the prospective agreements.

With jobless recoveries the issue du jour, free trade has become a wedge issue of considerable importance in the developed countries. This book hones in on free trade areas and their role in this complex globalisation process. CONTENTS: Preface; Free Trade Agreements: Impact on US Trade and Implications for US Trade Policy (William H. Cooper); The US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (Dick K. Nanto); Free Trade Agreements with Singapore and Chile: Labor Issues (Mary Jane Bolle); The US-Chile Free Trade Agreement: Economic and Trade Policy Issues (J. F. Hornbeck); Agricultural Trade in a US- Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) (Remy Jurenas); A Free Trade Area of the Americas: Status of Negotiations and Major Policy Issues (J. F. Hornbeck); US -- Jordan Free Trade Agreement (Mary Jane Bolle); Index.

Would a free trade agreement (FTA) between the nations of the Middle East and the United States be beneficial to both sides? Robert Lawrence provides an analysis that incorporates both economic and political considerations. He documents the scope for enhancing the trade linkages, domestic governance and regional trade of Arab countries. He evaluates the US strategy in negotiating bilateral agreements and reviews in considerable detail the specific agreements that have been negotiated so far and the challenges still to meet if a single overarching arrangement is to be implemented. Lawrence also compares the US approach with the parallel initiative being undertaken by the European Union.