Free Trade in the Americas International Agriculture and Trade Report

Overview

An FTAA that eliminates tariffs among the 34 Western Hemisphere countries would benefit the U.S. agricultural sector and the U.S. economy as a whole--if the United States were part of the arrangement. If the other Western Hemisphere countries formed an FTAA without the United States, the impact on the U.S. agricultural sector and the general U.S. economy would be slightly negative. In either case, the expected economic impact of an FTAA on the United States would be very small in the short run (3-5 years), primarily because tariffs in the region are already relatively low and are being further reduced through bilateral and multilateral agreements.