International Trade Agreements and Organisations

USMCA Secretariat

Website of the Secretariat established by the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) which is an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement of January 1 1994 (NAFTA). The Secretariat has sections focusing on the United States, Mexico and Canada. It provides administrative support and administration of the dispute settlement process. The USMCA and NAFTA can both be viewed in full on the site along with the rules of procedure, code of conduct and procedural forms. There are links to related organisations and a selection of FAQs.

MERCOSUR

Website of MERCOSUR, the Southern Common Market, a South American trading bloc which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia. The Treaty of Asunción 1991 and the Protocol of Ouro Preto 1994, the establishing treaties, are given on the site along with documents of MERCOSUR bodies - meeting minutes, reports, regulations and trade statistics. The site can be viewed in Spanish, Portuguese and English although information in English is limited.

Regulations of the Andean Community

This part of the Andean Community (CAN) website gives access to the Community’s laws and decisions. CAN is an international organisation, set up in 1969 by the Cartagena Agreement, that established a free trade area between Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. CAN conventions, treaties and official gazettes can be viewed in full text along with decisions and opinions of the Andean Commission. Minutes of the Andean Presidential Council meetings are also given. The site can be viewed in Spanish only. 

Researching the Trading Systems in the Asian-Pacific Region - APEC, ASEAN, TPP, CPTPP, RCEP and their Members

Online guide to the following trading alliances in South East Asia: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

ASEAN Legal Instruments

This page of the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) website provides information on the various legal instruments concluded among and between ASEAN Member States. The legal instruments are presented in a table and arranged according to ASEAN’s 3 community pillars: ASEAN Political Security Committee; ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio Cultural Committee. There is information on each agreement including signatories, status and links to the full text.

Discovering the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)

Online guide to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) written by Francisco A. Avalos who is Foreign and International Law Librarian and Associate Professor for Legal Research at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. The guide was published in 2021 on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law. The author provides an introduction and background information on the USMCA which supersedes the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC)

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (UNECOSOC) is an organ of the UN which aims to promote higher living standards and find solutions to international economic and social problems. Its website contains a description of the role of the body within the wider organisation of the United Nations, its current activities and members. It also contains the full-text of all its official resolutions since 1982 and all sessional documents from 1994 onwards. The latter include details of welfare programmes and economic surveys of particular areas of the world.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

COMESA is an inter-governmental body encouraging economic cooperation between countries in East and South Africa. Member states include: Angola, Burundi, Comoros, D.R.Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Click on the Intstitutions link to find the COMESA Court of Justice.

European Free Trade Association - (EFTA)

EFTA was founded in 1960 with the purpose of removing trade barriers between its member nations. Currently these are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The website provides information on the EFTA Secretariat, EFTA Surveillance Authority and EFTA Court. The Secretariat section includes information on the purpose and structure of EFTA as well as its annual reports and recent press releases. Also accessible are the Stockholm Convention and fact sheets on the relationship between EFTA and the European Economic Area (EEA).

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