Trade pact

A trade pact is a wide ranging tax, tariff and trade pact that usually also includes investment guarantees. It is necessarily a very politically contentious agreement, as it affects many prior economic customs and status relations and increases trade bloc interdependence. It usually seeks efficiency by "free trade". The anti-globalization movement opposes such agreements almost by definition, but some groups normally allied within that movement, e.g. Green Parties, seek fair trade or safe trade provisions that moderate what they see as ill effects of globalization.

Examples of trade pacts past and proposed:

• Multilateral Ageement on Investment (defunct)
• Free Trade Area of the Americas

See also: List of international trade topics