The North American Free Trade Agreement Continues To Spark Debate Today Particularly Concerning

The proposed TPP agreement contains a separate chapter on SMEs, although provisions on SMEs are included in other chapters. This chapter can focus on the ability of SMEs to exploit the enhanced trade opportunities offered by the potential free trade agreement. Although details of the agreement remain scarce, the TPP trade ministers` statement says the agreement will help allay concerns expressed by SMEs about “difficulties in understanding and using free trade agreements”. 136 For example, a representative of the USTR proposed that the agreement should seek to address INFORMATION Led by SMEs, such as.B. access to foreign collective agreements and import rules137 Negotiations on the SME chapter were concluded in the Dallas Round in May 2012138 The early conclusion on this issue could constitute both a broad consensus among the negotiating partners and relatively uncontested provisions. Another problem in agricultural trade, which arose in the TPP negotiations, concerns the use of geographical indications (GIs). GIs apply mainly to agricultural products, including cheeses, wines and spirits.