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Impact Of Trade Agreements On An International Scale

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I. Introduction
Trade agreements have been around for the past several centuries, and naturally, they have evolved. Earlier on, they were used exclusively as agreements between nations to reduce tariffs on each other’s products. Tariffs, however, were not the only way a nation could protect its industries. Trade agreements have evolved to address this situation, and instituted measures to disincentivize circumvention of the spirit of these agreements. Evolving still, trade agreements have now grown into massive collectives between nations that regulate more than just trade. Moreover, these agreements have become political tools to cement solidarity between nations, and are used to harmonize economic regulation on an international scale. …show more content…

More than just economic integration, however, the TPP presented an opportunity for the United States to alter the economic power dynamics in the Asia-Pacific. As the lead on TPP, the United States would have been able to shape regional trade in the Asian-Pacific to its benefit by building a network surrounding China. Specifically, opening markets to Asia would allow for the United States to craft the economic rules in the Asian-Pacific to preference TPP states, which in effect, would make it harder for a competing regulatory environment to be enacted.
Obama’s stance was rooted in keeping the international status quo while trying to break into Asia and counteracting China’s economic clout in the region. Newly elected President Donald Trump, however, has already come out and stated his opposition to the TPP; indeed, going so far as to include US withdrawal from the TPP as part of his agenda for his first day in office.
The TPP has faced public scrutiny during this election year particularly because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been decried by the public for some time. Loss of American jobs has largely fueled the outrage at NAFTA, but other issues exist as well. For example, TPP provisions on investor rights, like in NAFTA – the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process – would allow international arbitral bodies to hear challenges to a state 's legal rules. This

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