United States
Answer ... For a comprehensive overview of the United States’ engagement with the rest of the world through its trade agreements programme, see the 2022 Trade Policy Agenda and 2021 Annual Report located with other important US trade policy publications at https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/reports-and-publications/2022.
The United States is a member of and leader in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It actively participates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, G20, G7 and other multilateral and plurilateral organisations involving trade matters. On a bilateral and regional basis, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement applies to regional trade in North America. The United States has also entered into free trade agreements (FTAs) with:
- Australia;
- Bahrain;
- Chile;
- Colombia;
- Costa Rica;
- Dominican Republic;
- El Salvador;
- Guatemala;
- Honduras;
- Israel;
- Jordan;
- Morocco;
- Nicaragua;
- Oman;
- Panama;
- Peru;
- Singapore;
- South Korea
It has also concluded bilateral investment agreements and regional agreements with:
- Albania;
- Argentina;
- Armenia;
- Azerbaijan;
- Bangladesh;
- Bolivia;
- Bulgaria;
- Cameroon;
- the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa);
- the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
- Croatia;
- Czech Republic;
- Ecuador;
- Egypt;
- Estonia;
- Georgia;
- Grenada;
- Jamaica;
- Kazakhstan;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- Laos;
- Latvia;
- Lithuania;
- Moldova;
- Mongolia;
- Mozambique;
- Poland;
- Romania;
- Rwanda;
- Senegal;
- Slovakia;
- Sri Lanka;
- Trinidad and Tobago;
- Tunisia;
- Turkey;
- Ukraine; and
- Uruguay.
See also the 2018 Trade Policy Review of the United States and the 2019 revision at the WTO website (wto.org). In addition, the Trade and Related Agreements database maintained by the US Department of Commerce provides texts of agreements for download and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements section of the Office of the US Trade Representative’s website also has a helpful section about trade agreements.
United States
Answer ... Article 2 of the US Constitution vests the power to negotiate agreements with foreign powers with the president of the United States, who has delegated much of this responsibility to the Office of the US Trade Representative, part of the Executive Office of the President. The US Constitution also vests the authority to pass treaties, set tariffs and regulate interstate commerce with Congress. In order to have full authority to negotiate agreements that other countries can rely upon the United States to uphold, a mechanism has been developed for Congress to delegate its treaty powers, tariff-setting and other authorities to the president through a trade promotion authority (TPA) process. Integral to this process is the agreement by the president to consult regularly with Congress and to follow, as far as possible, the goals and objectives set by Congress in its grant of TPA. The president and the executive branch also agree to:
- consult regularly with Congress on the progress of the negotiations; and
- provide a draft agreement with implementing legislation and a statement of administrative action within strict time limits.
In exchange, Congress agrees to pass the legislation necessary to implement the agreement without changes, so that US trading partners can know that what they negotiated will be what the United States passes and implements. The process generally takes several years – often up to the final date set by Congress in its TPA legislation for the TPA to expire.
United States
Answer ... Usually not, but this depends on the terms of the trade agreement and surrounding actions. Prior to negotiating FTAs, many countries enter into trade and investment framework agreements that spell out the legal and regulatory goals that the trading partners seek from each other in order to deepen the relationship to a broader-based legal arrangement such as an FTA.