Trade Agreements in the Americas: Regionalism Converging to Globalization

This paper summarizes the evolution of regional trade agreements in the Americas and examines whether they are contributing to globalization or detracting from it. In theory, regional trade agreements may create incentives that deter countries from entering into multilateral negotiations. The paper draws on the political economy literature and takes a "dynamic time-path effect" perspective. The evolution of six regional trade agreements in Latin America are analyzed in detail: LAIA, Mercosur, NAFTA, Andean Community, Caricom, and CACM. This study concludes that regional trade agreements in the Americas have not discouraged the participatory countries' pursuit of multilateral negotiations. Moreover, regional agreements are contributing to a new power balance in the global scene