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Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have spread rapidly around the world since the 1990s. In the Americas, the proliferation of trade agreements with countries from within and beyond the region have resulted in a 'spaghetti bowl' of overlapping rules and regulations, some of which address behind-the-border issues such as investment, competition, labor, and environmental standards. Earlier research has linked trade agreements to increased foreign investment inflows. This article argues instead that the effects of PTAs on FDI depend on the domestic institutional capacities of member countries. Domestic institutions condition the benefits and effectiveness of PTAs by influencing governments' external credibility as well as their ability to implement the agreements they sign. The empirical findings show that weak state capacity exacerbates the spaghetti-bowl effects of multiple, overlapping agreements. Moreover, it is not the quantity but the quality, and more specifically, the depth of trade agreements that matters for attracting FDI. Los acuerdos de libre comercio se han propagado rapidamente por el mundo a partir de los anos noventa. En las Americas, la proliferacion de acuerdos comerciales con paises dentro y fuera de la region ha resultado en un 'spaghetti bowl' de reglas y regulaciones paralelas y que se superponen. En este trabajo, argumentamos que el efecto de los acuerdos preferenciales de comercio (APC) sobre la IED depende de la calidad de las instituciones nacionales en los paises miembros. Las instituciones politicas de cada pais miembro afectan la credibilidad externa, asi tambien como su capacidad para implementar los acuerdos que firman, de esa forma condicionando los beneficios y la efectividad de los APC. De acuerdo con nuestro analisis empirico, la baja capacidad estatal exacerba efectos negativos del 'spaghetti bowl' comercial. Ademas, la calidad (o profundidad) de los APC importa mas que la cantidad. Los acuerdos comerciales profundos, que abarcan temas y regulaciones domesticos, tienden a atraer mayores flujos de IED que los acuerdos superficiales., Since the 1990s, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have spread rapidly and widely throughout the world. At the time of writing, a total of 635 such agreements have been notified to [...]

Utilizing existing research and survey-based data from several studies, this article places the growth of the Mexican origin population in North Carolina in context and shows how it emerged out [...]

This paper analyses the effects of monetary agreements on trade flows using a sample of 25 OECD countries over the period 1950-2004. We find that these agreements have boosted intra-bloc trade. This result especially applies to the case of the euro. More importantly, in contrast to regional trade agreements, all monetary agreements analysed show evidence of trade-creating effects with third countries. Finally, only the euro shows a symmetric impact for the trade-creating effect with nonmembers, that is, using the euro promotes both the Eurozone's exports and its imports to nonEurozone markets to a similar extent. JEL classification: F13; F15 Keywords: Monetary agreements; Trade creation; Trade diversion; OECD countries

The proliferation of preferential trade agreements is posing a threat to the international financial system. The benefits of multilateralism should be more greatly appreciated to reverse the trend toward increasing regionalism.

The US' willingness and ability to promote the interests of US capitalism is reflected in the Australia-US free trade agreement (AUSFTA), and the Australian sovereignty is diminished without reciprocal concessions from the United States. Australia will lose its capacity to control pharmaceutical prices, its ability to impose performance requirements on suppliers, control foreign investment, and overall, Australia's gains are often hypothetical, while those of US' are concrete and immediate.

What are the impacts of free trade agreement on the welfare of different types of workers in a developed country? What is the impact of free trade on a developed country's income disparity? What is the effect of free trade on the skill distribution of a developed country? The objective of this paper is to address the above questions in a two-sector general-equilibrium North-South trade model in which both countries produce one final good and one high-tech intermediate input. The final good is produced with the use of a high-tech intermediate input and unskilled workers. Horizontally differentiated skilled workers produce the high-tech intermediate input. Each country is populated by a continuum of unskilled workers with differential potential ability. Workers in the North and South can acquire skills by investment in training or education. Thus, skill distribution in the North and South is determined endogenously in the model through a self-selection process. I characterize two different types of equilibria: a closed-economy equilibrium without trade and a free trade equilibrium. Then, I investigate the impact of free trade, in the presence of training costs, on the skill distribution within each country, income disparity, and social welfare. JEL classification: D63, F10, J31 Distribution des habiletes et disparite des revenus dans un modele de type Nord-Sud de commerce international. Quels sont les impacts d'un accord de libre echange sur le bien-etre de divers types de travailleurs dans un pays developpe? Quel est l'impact du libre echange sur la disparite des revenus dans un pays developpe? Quel est l'effet du libre echange sur la distribution des habiletes d'un pays developpe? L'objectif de ce memoire est de repondre a ces questions dans le cadre d'un modele d'equilibre general de commerce international de type Nord- Sud a deux secteurs dans lequel les deux pays produisent un bien final et un intrant a saveur de haute technologie. Le bien final est produit a l'aide de cet intrant et de travailleurs non specialises. Horizontalement, des travailleurs dotes de differentes habiletes produisent cet intrant intermediaire. Les travailleurs dans le Nord et dans le Sud peuvent acquerir des habiletes en investissant en formation ou en education. La distribution des habiletes dans le Nord et dans le Sud est determinee de maniere endogene dans le modele via un processus d'auto selection. L'auteur definit deux types d'equilibre: un equilibre d'economie fermee sans commerce, et un equilibre de libre echange. Il examine ensuite l'impact du libre echange sur la distribution des habiletes, les disparites de revenus et le niveau de bien-etre a l'interieur de chaque pays, quand les couts de formation ne sont pas nuls.

North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA) provides administered protection for the domestic countries, especially in the import-dependent, agriculture and agri-food industries. The incidence of anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) law suits have reduced in the three NAFTA countries namely-US, Mexico and Canada. The administered protection mechanism can be altered by the reduction/elimination of duties, removal of AD/CVD suits, and the use of good offices, that is third party mediation.

The impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the US-Mexican trade is studied. A 5.6 % rise in the demand for US imports of Mexican goods for every 1 % rise in the US NAFTA tariff preference for Mexico, reveals the positive impact of the preferences, the exemption of non- tariff barriers, and the challenges settlement and investment provisions of the intra-NAFTA trade.

European Union, a strong supporter of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is dedicated to multilateral trade liberalization, is also a major participant in Preferential Arrangements (PAs) of different kinds with other countries apart from its member states. This dual approach of the European Union, potential effect of PAs on developing countries, right way to deploy multilateralism, the need to improve WTO rules concerning PAs, and the current EU policy on the question of any new Preferential Arrangements, are analyzed.