The U.S. Congress and Free Trade Agreements: The Case of George W. Bush administration (2001-06)

George W. Bush administration has focused on bilateral and regional trade agreements, deviating from multilateral agreements which had been the main subject of U.S. trade policy. In trade agreements, U.S. President needs the approval of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, in which the Ways and Means Committee of the House and the Finance Committee of the Senate have played a key role. The members of the two lead legislative bodies dealing with trade tend to be consistent in positions, generally independent of party leaders, when it comes to FTAs(free trade agreements). In the cases of CAFTA and U.S.-Oman FTA, however, many of those members voted inconsistently with other FTAs that were ratified during the Bush administration until 2006. This article examines the ratification results of FTAs during the George W. Bush administration until 2006, concluding that the difference between CAFTA, U.S.-Oman FTA and other FTAs resulted from political necessity, not from economic factors or political structural changes