Debating Trade: The Legislative Politics of Free Trade Agreements in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-364
Author(s):  
Fabian A. Borges
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Legislative Politics ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Ability And Willingness ◽  
Do So

Stereotypes of Latin American legislatures as either rubber stamps or obstructionist obscure important cross-national differences. This article argues that the ability and willingness of legislatures to serve as counterweights to presidents are functions of their capabilities, electoral rules and the president’s powers. These arguments are assessed by comparing the legislative debates of free trade agreements with the US and accompanying legislation in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. The cases reveal that legislatures with strong capabilities behave proactively, proposing their own policies that challenge the executive’s. If they challenge the president, congresses with weaker capabilities do so primarily through obstruction. Further, electoral rules shape the way legislators go about challenging the executive. Whereas legislators elected under personal vote systems take their cues from constituents, those elected under party-vote systems follow the party line. Worryingly, however, even a capable and motivated legislature may be sidelined by a powerful executive.

scholarly journals Civil Society Activism under US Free Trade Agreements: The Effects of Actorness on Decent Work

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Myriam Oehri
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Us

US free trade agreements comprise unique provisions that enable civil society to present public complaints against labor rights violations occurring in the US or its trade partners. To date, a variety of complainants have used these mechanisms, including (inter)national trade unions, human rights organizations, and a priest. And yet, little is known about the submissions’ nature of agency and the effects it has on the procedural continuations to address illicit labor practices. To fill this research lacuna, this article employs a multidisciplinary framework of ‘actorness’ that measures the submitters’ diversity (professionalism/non-professionalism, collectivism/individualism, transnationalism/nationalism) and their effectiveness (rejection/acceptance of submissions and further procedural follow-ups). Combining quantitative examination with in-depth analysis of two diverse cases of actorness, and drawing on expert interviews, public reports, and minutes of meetings, the study reveals that the majority of public submissions were of professional, collective, and transnational nature. However, contrary to what extant literature suggests, this is not a guarantee that they achieve more far-reaching procedural steps in the protection of workers. Non-professional, individual, and national actorness can compensate for the advantages of professionalism, collectivism, and transnationalism.

The Impact of Free Trade Agreements on Internet Intermediary Liability in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 171-189
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Lara Gálvez ◽  
Alan M. Sears
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
The North ◽  
Intermediary Liability ◽  
The Impact

This chapter discusses the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) on intermediary liability in Latin America, with special emphasis on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) provisions that have been included into every bilateral FTA the United States has entered into since 2002, thus promoting their inclusion in the national law of other countries. However, these provisions are controversial, and whether they drive the internet economy or create a more restrictive online space is a matter of debate. This chapter analyses the impact of such provisions in Latin American countries and the state of their implementation in national jurisdictions. In particular, this chapter reviews implementation and proposed implementation of the DMCA model in Chile, Costa Rica and other CAFTA bloc countries, Colombia, and Peru. It also discusses the failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement to create new intermediary liability rules and how the same language was ultimately included in the revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which became the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Impact of the Patent Cooperation Treaty in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 803-822
Author(s):  
Juan I Correa ◽  
Carlos M Correa
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Patent Cooperation Treaty ◽  
Local Companies ◽  
Latin American Countries

Abstract This study shows that the main beneficiaries of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in three Latin American countries, which adhered to it as a result of the obligations provided for in free trade agreements, have been non-residents rather than local companies and individual inventors. This rebuts the frequently made argument that acceding to the PCT would generate incentives for local innovation and benefit local inventors by boosting their capacity to protect their developments in third countries. In the three countries considered in this study, the number of patents granted increased after accession to the treaty. This points to the risk of an erosion of the countries’ flexibilities in designing and implementing patent policies, as allowed by the TRIPS Agreement, with respect to the standards applied to assess eligibility for patent protection.

scholarly journals Free trade agreements and their impact on latin american migrations: An approach

2008 ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
Ricardo Ernesto Buitrago R.
Keyword(s):  
International Migration ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Job Creation ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Major Determinant ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Latin American Countries

This paper aims to review the causes of international migration and the potential impact of FTAs (Free TradeAgreements) on latin american migrations. The first part describes the economic and non-economic causes for migration. The second one shows the potential impact of FTAs in the economy (job creation/destruction by sectors) in CAFTA countries and Colombia.The last part shows that there is little correlation between the commercial openness (FTAs) and the reduction of poverty. Poverty seems to be increasing in the studied countries –even more in those with the most open commercial regimens, than in those with the most closed ones. Data proves that openness doesn’t reduce the poverty automatically; on the contrary, in some (regional or subregional) cases it increases and causes a major determinant of international migration in latin american countries.

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