Free Trade Agreements

What this page covers

This unit is about free trade agreements: what they contain, how they are negotiated, and how particular deals and blocs work. Nearly all of the resources are mind maps, with a few flashcard decks and one flowchart.

Many maps focus on the Americas. You will find several on NAFTA, including the mind map titled NAFTA 2.0, plus maps on the USMCA, the Andean Community, Southern Common Market (Mercosur), G-3 and THE PACIFIC ALLIANCE. Others look at single bilateral deals, such as the Chile Free Trade Agreement, Mexico-Israel FTA and Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement!.

Where to start

1. Open Contents of Free Trade Agreements and Legislation applicable to FTAs to see what a typical agreement includes.
2. Read RTAs for the arguments for and against regional trade agreements.
3. Move to the Continental Free Trade Agreement in America map for history and the main regional blocs.
4. Pick one agreement and study it closely, for example the Chile Free Trade Agreement map or the NAFTA maps.

Using maps and flashcards together

The maps give you the structure of an agreement: who signed it, when it came into force, and what it changes. The flashcard decks help you check recall. The NAFTA deck asks what the agreement is, which countries are included and why it was created. The Bilateral agreements and Multi-lateral agreements decks help you tell the two types apart.

A simple routine works well: read a map, cover it, and write down the main points from memory. Then check the flashcards and compare a second map on the same topic.

Where this unit fits

This unit sits in the strand Trade Policy, Institutions and Integration, within International trade. It suits university students and teachers most, since nearly all the material is at that level. Some maps are in a mix of languages or have short titles, so skim a few before choosing.

Ready to begin? Open one map that matches your course, then make your own summary of it.