Trading for National Security? United States Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East and North Africa

Trading for National Security? United States Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Ralph Folsom
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Free trade and customs union agreements are the rage. Hundreds of bilateral and regional free trade agreements have been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which in theory quot;regulatesquot; them under Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).1 For example, free trade fever has reached such partners as Chile-China, Japan-Mexico, Canada-Costa Rica, Mexico-European Union, and New Zealand-Singapore. This contagion is a relatively recent phenomenon, one which poses systemic risk to the WTO.2Far more than elsewhere in the world, United States free trade agreements in the Middle East and North Africa pursue economic policies in a seething political cauldron. This environment has led to a distinct friend or foe approach to a region most notable for its subtleties. This article commences with an analysis of free trade with a hard-core ally, Israel. It progresses to free trade with less obvious U.S. allies, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and Oman. The United Arab Emirates, with which U.S. free trade negotiations are in progress, is then reviewed as a problematic case study. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and other key players in the Middle East and North Africa are woven into the analysis.Various themes permeate this article: The use by the United States of bilateral trade and investment treaties and WTO membership as prerequisites to free trade, links between U.S. free trade agreements and Middle Eastern oil and politics, the future of the Bush Administration's Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) initiative, and the premise that national security can be enhanced and terrorism can be fought through trade. Analysis of these themes is comparative, with particular reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and WTO law.

Trading for National Security? United States Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East and North Africa

Trading for National Security? United States Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Ralph Folsom
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Free trade and customs union agreements are the rage. Hundreds of bilateral and regional free trade agreements have been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which in theory quot;regulatesquot; them under Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).1 For example, free trade fever has reached such partners as Chile-China, Japan-Mexico, Canada-Costa Rica, Mexico-European Union, and New Zealand-Singapore. This contagion is a relatively recent phenomenon, one which poses systemic risk to the WTO.2Far more than elsewhere in the world, United States free trade agreements in the Middle East and North Africa pursue economic policies in a seething political cauldron. This environment has led to a distinct friend or foe approach to a region most notable for its subtleties. This article commences with an analysis of free trade with a hard-core ally, Israel. It progresses to free trade with less obvious U.S. allies, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and Oman. The United Arab Emirates, with which U.S. free trade negotiations are in progress, is then reviewed as a problematic case study. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and other key players in the Middle East and North Africa are woven into the analysis.Various themes permeate this article: The use by the United States of bilateral trade and investment treaties and WTO membership as prerequisites to free trade, links between U.S. free trade agreements and Middle Eastern oil and politics, the future of the Bush Administration's Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) initiative, and the premise that national security can be enhanced and terrorism can be fought through trade. Analysis of these themes is comparative, with particular reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and WTO law.

United States Bilateral Free Trade Agreements

United States Bilateral Free Trade Agreements PDF Author: Mohamed Ramadan Hassanien
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9041132813
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Summary: Trade between the United States and the eighteen countries of the Middle East and North Africa continues to grow at a steady pace, especially with countries which have signed trade agreements with the United States.

Global Trends 2040

Global Trends 2040 PDF Author: National Intelligence Council
Publisher: Cosimo Reports
ISBN: 9781646794973
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

EU and U.S. Free Trade Agreements in the Middle East and North Africa

EU and U.S. Free Trade Agreements in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Riad al Khouri
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Promoting U.S. Commerce in the Middle East and North Africa

Promoting U.S. Commerce in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa, North
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Implementation of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement

Implementation of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description


Free Trade Agreements

Free Trade Agreements PDF Author: Jeffrey J Schott
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0881324582
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
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.

U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement

U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In aiming to fight terrorism with trade, the United States negotiated and the President signed on January 19, 2006, the U.S.'s fifth bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in the proposed 20-entity Middle-East-Free Trade Area (MEFTA). This FTA is with Oman. Other U.S.-FTAs are with Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain. A sixth is being negotiated with the United Arab Emirates. Oman is a small oilexporting U.S. trade partner that has been supportive of U.S. policies in the Middle East and is strategically located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Because its oil reserves could be exhausted within 15-20 years, Oman is trying to liberalize and diversify its trade regime beyond oil and gas to provide economic opportunities for its fast growing workforce. Supporters of the agreement typically cite political and economic reasons. Opponents typically point to labor and human rights issues. The FTA with Oman is similar to other MEFTA FTAs and has three basic parts: new tariff schedules, broad commitments to open markets and provisions to support those commitments, and protections for labor and the environment. It provides immediate duty-free access for almost all consumer and industrial goods, with special provisions for agriculture and textiles and apparel. Among all U.S. trade partners, Oman ranks 88th for the United States, while the United States ranks third for Oman (after the United Arab Emirates and Japan). U.S.-Oman trade at about $1 billion for 2005 represents 0.04% (four-one hundredths of one percent) of total U.S. trade. In 2005, the most important U.S. imports from Oman were oil and natural gas (75%), and apparel (10%). The most important U.S. exports to Oman were transport equipment (56%), and machinery (24%). The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) predicts that the economic effect of the U.S.-Oman FTA is likely to be minimal since trade levels are low; and any increase in U.S. imports of apparel would come at the expense of workers elsewhere in the world, not in the United States. Total U.S. foreign direct investment in Oman was $358 million in 2003, up from $193 million in 2002. Supporters argue that the U.S.-Oman FTA will contribute to bilateral economic growth and trade, generate export opportunities for U.S. companies, farmers, and ranchers, and help create jobs in both countries. Critics argue that labor protections are inadequate for Omani workers, and that the FTA will not help level the playing field for Omani and U.S. workers. Critics also argue that a provision in Annex II of the FTA could obligate the United States to open up landside aspects of its port activities to operation by companies doing business in Oman -- activities about which Congress expressed national security concerns during the Dubai Ports World debate. After the President submitted the agreement and the implementing legislation to Congress, relevant committees had 45 days to consider (or not consider) it, and either chamber had 15 more days to vote the legislation up or down without amendment to the agreement itself or the legislation. The Senate passed implementing legislation on June 29, 2006 (S. 3569); the House passed it (H.R. 5684) on July 20; the Senate re-passed it under the House number on September 19, and it became P.L. 109-283 on September 26, 2006. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Free Trade in the Americas: Regional Trade Agreements as National Security Policy

Free Trade in the Americas: Regional Trade Agreements as National Security Policy PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Increasingly, America's security objectives are defined by U.S. economic interests. In Latin America, closed economies and authoritarian governments are transitioning to market-oriented systems and democratic institutions, resulting in increased goodwill and cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. In 1993, President Clinton pushed hard and won congressional approval on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Along with this, he orchestrated the landmark Summit of the Americas in December 1994 between the U.S., Canada, and the democratically-elected leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean. The result of the 'Miami Summit' was a proclamation that the nations of the Western Hemisphere would establish a hemispheric free trade area with a target date of 2005. However, in 1994 and 1995, the peso crisis, brought on by a series of problems within Mexico, caused that country's financial system to collapse along with the hopes for a hemispheric free trade pact in the near future. This paper argues that, while NAFTA and its South American counterpart (Mercado Comun del Sur, or MERCOSUR) are formed on an economic basis, the true value of a regional free trade agreement is as a national security strategy tool. It also looks at NAFTA and MERCOSUR in detail, examines the power relationship between countries in the region, and discusses those issues of greatest concern to the U.S. regarding a free trade expansion within Latin America. Ultimately, the U.S. should pursue and expand its current strategy because of foreign policy implications and it should not allow its long-term interests to be derailed because of temporary setbacks in the financial and trade arena.

The North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement PDF Author: George W. Grayson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Canada
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description