Summary: The United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere have been making progress in efforts to liberalize trade. Almost all countries in the hemisphere, including the United States, are proceeding with discussions aimed a creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas. At the same time, various subregional agreements and arrangements have been formed. This report (1) describes the principal existing subregional trade arrangements in the Western Hemisphere, (2) outlines the current status of discussions over the free trade area, and (3) identifies recent developments in regional trade liberalization outside the free trade area process since "fast track" authority lapsed in December 1994 and the implications of these developments for the United States. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Trade Liberalization: Recent Developments in Western Hemisphere Trade Arrangements, by JayEtta Z. Hecker, Associate Director for International Relations and Trade Issues, before the Subcommittee on Trade, House Committee on Ways and Means. GAO/T-NSIAD-97-220, July 22 (12 pages).
