Trade pact
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A trade pact is a wide ranging tax, tariff and trade pact that often includes investment guarantees. Trade pacts are frequently politically contentious since they may change economic customs and deepen interdependence with trade partners. Increasing efficiency through "free trade" is a common goal. The anti-globalization movement opposes such agreements almost by definition, but some groups normally allied within that movement, e.g. Green Parties, seek fair trade or safe trade provisions that moderate what they perceive to be the ill effects of globalization.
The resulting level of economic integration depends on the specific type of trade pact:
- Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)
- Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
- Preferential Trade Arrangement (PTA)
- Free Trade Area, established through a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
- Customs Union, Common market, Currency Union or Economic and Monetary Union
- Trade bloc (consisting of multiple of the above policies)
- special agreements (World Trade Organization treaty, the now defunct Multilateral Agreement on Investment, the Textile Agreement in the WTO framework, etc.)
