Implementation of Anti Human Trafficking Policies Through International and Interregional Free Trade Agreements and Associations

Implementation of Anti Human Trafficking Policies Through International and Interregional Free Trade Agreements and Associations

Human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of the slave trade. It's the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world. The United Nations estimates that human trafficking generates over nine billion dollars in annual revenue worldwide. While drug dealers can sell their commodities only once, trafficking victims are considered cheap products that can be reused. Thus, human traffickers get a continuous return on their investment. Given the low overhead and high profitability, human trafficking is quickly becoming the transnational criminal enterprise of choice. [i] Today, human trafficking takes place within the framework of a globalizing international economic system which has resulted in the creation of a massive highly mobile migrant workforce. Many person as a reult of immigration law of the United Stetes are not able to make the needed trek to a place where work is. This system emphasizes the importance of the free flow of capital, goods, and service along interregional and international borders. In the absence of employment opportunities, growing poverty and discrimination in the newly independent and developing countries, the possibility to earn a decent living abroad has lured many into illegal migration and trafficking.[ii] On the Economic Roots of Trafficking in Europe, the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) reported: "Over the past decade, there was a dramatic increase in the number of women being trafficked from Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States to North America and Western Europe. The rise in trafficking was an unexpected outcome of the events that brought about much enthusiasm and expectations � the dismantling of the ideological and systemic barriers that had divided Europe for almost a century."[iii]

Another consequence of the vast expansion of international trade and globalization has been an increase in the economic interdependence of nations on a regional and international level. The interdependence between nations can be seen in the dramatic rise of external trade as a percentage of world Gross Domestic Product. Between 1950 and 1998, worldwide GDP increased about six fold while total worldwide exports increased nearly twenty-fold. Exports were equal to 17 percent of GDP in 1998, they reached 20 percent in 2000, and they exceeded 25 percent b by 2005.[iv]

Increasing interdependence of the world economy during this era necessitated the Bottom of Form the creation of international intergovernmental structures to further facilitate the expansion and maintenance of international trade. Organizations and multilateral agreements such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), have been set up with the primary task of facilitating free trade among their member's countries.

These groups possess institutional mechanisms which if permitted by key member states can be utilized to combat international and interregional human trafficking in an effective manner. More so, nations within these institutions which possess significant and disproportionate economic strength [higher GDP in comparison to the other member state's: i.e. the United States] can wield considerable influence on the other member states. Additionally, interregional and international economic organizations can influence the conduct of non member nations which may have aspirations of joining the economic trading association/agreement. For instance, acceptance within the economic organization may include a list of key criteria the joining nation has to meet prior to acceptance by member states. Some of the criteria should included institutionalization of intra-national anti-trafficking infrastructure such as new policing policies or passage of stricter anti-trafficking law as well a s increasing anti trafficking cooperation with neighboring nations. The vast economic reach of economic trading organizations can be utilized to influence the behavior of its member states as well as non-member aspirationalist states to bring about a range of cooperative international and interregional efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking.

The utilization of the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on member states is a blunt instrument which has been historically reserved for what the Security Council has deemed to be grave concerns that are a threat to international security.[v] While the General assembly and the General Secretariat of the UN lacks the power in institute economic restrictions on its member counties.[vi] However international and interregional economic cooperation regimes such as NAFTA possess mutually beneficial monetary and economic incentives which can be utilized by the international or interregional community of nations to push for more aggressive anti trafficking national and regional enforcement mechanisms.

II: TVPA's Extraterritorial Reach and the Limitations in the United States use of Unilateral Economic Sanction to Tackle Human Trafficking

A key provision of the Traffic Victims Protection Act (TVPA) allows the US government to deny "non humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance to any government not making significant efforts to comply with US-defined �minimum standards for eliminating trafficking." Compliance with US standard is measured by the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which ranks countries according to their compliance with US standards and a special "watch list" of countries requiring special scrutiny. Economic sanctions are to be employed as a last resort, after aggressive pursuit of all other alternatives has been exhausted.[vii]

Since the formulation of the TVPA, the sanctions regime it created has been applied to a limited number of states with limited effect. The nations it has applied to (Cuba, North Korea, and Myanmar) have had a history of sanctions place upon them by the United States. More so, given the history of tense relations with the US, these nation have very little trade contact and exposure to the US economy. As a result the sanctions against them have very little effect on their economic performance and thus do not provide these nations with an incentive to cooperate in the combating of human trafficking. In addition, TVPA sanction application has appeared to be political motivated; being targeted against nations that have has a history of political difference with the US, while countries with cordial bilateral relations with the US have been given a pass. As noted by Janie Chuang, "politically motivated application of US sanctions policy not only fail to provoke the desired chang e, but it can affirmatively backfire by further radicalizing recalcitrant regimes."[viii]

Multilateral actions or the threat of multilateral economic action [sanctions] within the context of international and interregional economic organization's can play a more constructive role in brining about anti trafficking policies on an international and interregional level. In addition, the United States can create an incentive based cooperation model within the context of international interregional or even bilateral trade agreements to create a just system of mutual benefit for all parties involved. Also, this policy has the added effect of internalizing the benefit of combating human trafficking within the socio-economic context of other countries. Citizens of states that participate will see combating human trafficking as a benefit for all in society. In Summation, Rating countries according to their anti-trafficking efforts may prove a useful exercise for congressional oversight and for prioritizing cooperative efforts for the U.S, but prior, similar experiences with negative results--such as the drug trafficking issue--must be taken into account. The current rating system may prove to be one of the primary barriers for building a true partnership in the fight to eradicate human trafficking.[ix]

III: Inter-regional Economic Cooperation Organization: Structure, Makeup, and their Ability to Influence Member Countries to Cooperate in Combating Human Trafficking.

Interregional and international economic organizations and free trade agreements have positive and negative consequence on the nation's which choose to join them. Free trade agreements, "may have the power to raise standards of living, to improve working conditions, and to increase environmental protections; however, such agreements between developed and developing countries exacerbate existing deficiencies within the developing nations. Without the proper infrastructure, people within developing countries fall susceptible to exploitation."[x]

However, these institutions and agreements can serve as a valuable asset with which the United States can implement the various anti-trafficking policy initiatives spelled out in the TVPA. The United States inherent global economic reach and large GDP as compared to the other nations within those organizations provides it with considerable influence which can be employed to tackle human trafficking. More so, since human-trafficking possesses a global geo-economic and international trade dynamic these institutions serve as a logical environment where policies, procedures, and coordinated efforts can take place. United States can establish forums and bodies within already existing economic association's and agreements to combat the crisis.

1. Structure of Interregional Economic Organizations.

Economic cooperation and free trade organizations vary in the obligations and responsibilities they place on their members. Generally, international associations are groups into two main categories. (1) Free-trade agreements, (2) Free Trade Association's.

(1) Free-trade agreements. Free trade agreements are cooperative agreements between amongst a collection of nations, usually within a defined geographical area. The intent of a free trade agreement is to open up borders and promote free trade, the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. Examples of free trade agreements are, The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Southern Common Market (South American Free Trade usually referred to as Mercasur), or the European Economic Community (EEC) which later expanded it's powers to become the European Union. The agreements have explicit set of rules and regulations on interregional or international trade defined in an agreement with which all joining nations have to sign, ratify, and implement. Failure to implement the rules of the agreement will lead to the enforcement of measures spelled out in the signed document. The World Trade Organization (WTO) serves as an international form of a trade agreement based on th e same model as interregional agreements where member states have to abide by specific set of criteria. Failure to comply will be met with enforcement measures. Trade agreements provide international standards for goods, but by incorporating language guaranteeing rights for workers, they have the potential to simultaneously spur the economic growth necessary to improve living standards, and to reorient society to combat trafficking in the long term.[xi]

(2) Free Trade Association's: Free Trade Association's are formal groups of nation's who meet at a designated location. These associations usually possess the common objective of asserting and advancing free trade policies, along with a political objective of advancing peaceful coexistence. For example, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations states that its aims and purposes are, (1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and (2) to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.[xii] These associations have been utilized as forum to advance free trade and political agreements on a unilateral and multi lateral level.

One Example is Australia's participation in Combating Human Trafficking by working with a regional economic association. Australia's close geographic proximity to South East Asia and the disparity in economic development between Australian and its northern neighbors has lead to a increasing amount of humans that have been trafficked in that part of the globe. Indonesia's thousands of islands give it huge extended borders and make it easy to dodge immigration authorities. Once in Indonesia, all a migrant has to do is make contact with a people-smuggler. "The cost of passage on illegal boats can be over $10,000 per passenger. The boats are not what most would consider sea-worthy or safe. They're [Trafficked Persons] at extreme risk. The challenges of human trafficking lead to the creation of the Bali Process."[xiii]

The Bali Process brought together thirty-eight source, transit and receiving (destination) countries from throughout the region. With the objectives of combating human trafficking, Nations who participated agreed to develop practical plans of action. For example New Zealand has coordinated activities to increase regional and international cooperation while Thailand has coordinated work on legislation, law enforcement and document fraud issues. The Bali process has served as an effective tool on a regional level and as lead to the facilitation of financing to develop an anti trafficking infrastructure within various participating member states.

The ratification of anti-trafficking laws and procedures by a country is not the final outcome of the process of combating human trafficking but a first step in institutionalizing anti-human trafficking attitudes within the economic and socio-political fabric of a geo-political region of the globe. The creation of institutions similar to the Bali Process can serve as an important tool where the targets and aspirations of eth TVPA can be met in a more system more conducive to regional cooperation.

IV: NAFTA and the United States Ability to Encourage Cooperation in Anti-Trafficking Legislations Policies and Procedures in the Western Hemisphere

There three general approaches to combating human trafficking, (1) Law Enforcement and Enforcement of Legislation (2) The Human Rights Approach, and (3) Labor Rights Approach. NAFTA can serve as a tool to establish frameworks of all three approaches on a regional level.[xiv] Mexico and the United States have been key trading partners for many decades. With the ratification of NAFTA and subsequent free trade policies on both sides of the border, bilateral trade as a percentage total trade has risen dramatically. Today the United States is Mexico's main trading partner, capturing over 85 percent of its exports and providing about 53 percent of its imports. [xv]

One of the original political motivations of NAFTA was to decrease the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico to the North.[xvi] However, it can be argued that NAFTA has had the opposite impact on Illegal Immigration and human trafficking. NAFTA was expected to provide tangible and measurable economic benefits to Mexico and thus lessen the need to leave the country for economic necessity. NAFTA's ended Mexico's historically high corn subsidies to inefficient Mexican corn farmers, and displacing them with an influx of U.S. corn into the country.[xvii] As a result of the liberalizing free trade aspects of NAFTA, many rural Mexican residents to abandon there home and travel north to work as day laborer in US agriculture. Thus there is a need for Immigration lawyers from the United States to hel p change laws.

More so the opening up of the US market to foreign goods has lead to efforts by agricultural employers to lower their unit cost to be able to compete in the global market place. This is seen, for instance, in Florida's multibillion dollar orange growing industry in which many orchard workers from Mexico and Central America have been smuggled voluntarily or trafficked and held in conditions of forced servitude.[xviii] Thus, with the imposition of NAFTA's economic system which has lead to the dislocation of many rural resident of Mexico, interregional crime network have come to play a significant role in facilitating regional human trafficking from the rural regions of Mexico to the North.[xix]

As a result of the integration of the economies of North America, Mexico and the United States must expand their cooperative efforts to combat significant issues. More so the ratification of any future free trade agreement with countries which want to join an expanding North America economic alliance should contain cooperative initiatives and policy modification's to meet the guidelines established under the TVPA.

1. Organizational Structure of NAFTA

NAFTA is a formal agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with specific provisions to implement free trade on the North American Continent. The agreement includes such provisions as, Tariff Elimination on specific goods and services like Annex 312.2 Wine and Distilled Spirits, or the reduction of tariffs on such goods as printed advertising materials or goods imported for sports programs.[xxi] As a trading block, NAFTA possesses a Secretariat, which comprises of a Canadian Section, a Mexican Section and a United States Section. The secretariat is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Thus, the NAFTA Secretariat is relegated to settling trade disputes specifically provided within the text of the agreement. As a result, the secretariat is not the correct forum to discuss and implement anti-trafficking policies and procedures.[xxii]

However, the United States can exert pressure within the context of NAFTA to influence member countries into compliance an increased cooperation with stated human trafficking doctrine. The United States can reach this objective without the utilization of a sanction's based regime as proposed by the TVPA. Instead, US policy can encourage increasing cooperation via an incentive based approach which facilitates a greater sense of mutual benefit across the territorial divide.

A future expansion of NATO via the implementation of the "Free Trade Area of the Americas" (FTAA) or any other future agreement should include specific anti trafficking provisions. The text of NAFTA allows for the possibility of accession, but gives few concrete guidelines for the procedure to be followed. Article 2204 states, "The general procedure for accession involves three steps--a formal invitation by the members of NAFTA to begin accession negotiations, negotiations between the applying county and representatives of the NAFTA members, and approval of the completed agreement by the three member countries and the acceding country. The first two steps are ad hoc in nature; the NAFTA members decide when and how to extend a formal invitation, after which they and the invitee agree on the logistics of the negotiations. The third step, however, must follow the domestic laws of each state."[xxiii] More so, there are informal substantive guidelines that any country hoping t o ascend to the agreement should meet; referred to as "indicators of readiness"-- (1) the economic and institutional capacity to fulfill long-term, serious commitments, (2) a stable macroeconomic environment and market-oriented policies, (3) progress in achieving open trade regimes, and (4) membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). More recently, protection of intellectual property and investment has gained importance as a generally recognized requirement for admission into NAFTA.[xxiv]

2. Expansion of NATO: The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act: Use as a Model to Create a Western Hemisphere (North and South America) Anti-Trafficking Response Within the Context of Free Trade Agreements

A clear example of the United States economic strength used as leverage to implement beneficial policies can be seen in the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act enacted in 2002. The ATPDEA was established as free trade system by which the United States grants duty-free access to a wide range of exports from four Andean countries. The purpose of this preference based system was to foster economic development in the Andean countries to provide alternatives to cocaine production. Thus in return for access to the US market, countries that have been involved in the production and exportation of drugs (mainly cocaine) in South America have to -actively participate and cooperate in anti-narcotics activities between the various nations in the regions and the United States.[xxv]

This free-trade antinarcotics platform can be utilized and expanded to include participation in cooperative anti-trafficking effort's in return to inclusion into a broader free-trade agreement which can either be an expansion of NATO or a new hemispherical free trade association. According to 2008 TIPP report most South and Central American state are at the Tier2 or Tiear2 "watch list". Tier2 means "countries whose governments do not fully comply with the acts [TVPA] minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance; and the watch list is regulated to countries that have a significant problem with human trafficking (or) have failed to provide evidence of having made significant efforts.

Instead of the utilization of a sanctions based regime spelled out under the TVPA, the United States can increase human trafficking cooperation with these countries by employing the principles set out in the Criteria for admission in the ATPDEA.

The Andean Trade Preference Act�s Criteria for admission includes, "the extent to which the country provides internationally recognized worker rights, including: 1. the right of association; 2. the right to organize and bargain collectively; 3. a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; 4. a minimum age for the employment of children; and 3. acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.[xxvi] The criteria also includes a basis for admission on "whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section 507(6) of the Trade Act of 1974."[xxvii]

3. NAFTA Expansion: Pitfalls and Opportunities in Combating Human Trafficking.

The US has attempted to expand free trade to all the America's (North and South). The Central American Free Trade Agreement of (CAFTA) attempts to bring Central American nations into a free trade zone with the United States.[xxviii] However the integration of the America's into a NAFTA like economic system without specific measures to combat human trafficking will lead to the growth of the problem. Proponents expect CAFTA to reinforce stability by providing institutional structures that will support democracy and the rule of law, while critics worry about the pervasive social and economic inequality of the region. More than half of Central America's total population is poor, leading critics to argue that CAFTA will aggravate the extreme inequality of income and wealth.[xxix]

United States trade agreement in the America's should be coupled with efforts to combat human trafficking. An example of such an effort in the America's is the work competed by the South American Common Market orMERCASUL, "In 2005, the original MERCOSUL countries, together with Chile, Bolivia Peru, Venezuela, and Ecuador, signed the Montevideo Declaration Against Human Trafficking, requiring police cooperation and collaboration with regard to human trafficking, especially trafficking linked to prostitution. In 2006, MERCOSUR adopted a "Plan of Action" to Combat Human Trafficking, making signatories more accountable for the plan's implementation and also foreseeing" informative campaigns, exchange of information, training of governmental and non-governmental actors, and assistance for victims of human trafficking."[xxx] As such, the United States efforts in free trade expansion in the region can be coupled with efforts in combating human trafficking.

V: How the United States canInfluence and Encourage the Combating of Human Trafficking Within Various International and Regional Trade Organizations:

The United State is a memberof theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). APEC is a supranational association of Pacific Rim countries whose leaders meet with the purpose of improving economic and political ties.[xxxi] Members of APEC comprise of nations form both sides of the Pacific Ocean, and makeup 54% of the worlds economic output.[xxxii] APEC has become a vehicle to expand United States policy objective including
facilitating economic development, the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the mobility of businesspeople, more equitable participation by women and young people in the labor market.[xxxiii] Its members include some of the world's largest contributors and host of trafficked victims. APEC meetings are held annually in one of the 21 host countries, usually between the months of September and November. As a result a US policy objectiv e at future APEC meeting can be to call for the establishment of a regional trans-pacific forum within the APEC institutional apparatuses where discussion's on combating human trafficking can take place on a ministerial or sub-ministerial level. An example of the use this forum to push for policy objectives can be viewed in "APEC's Investment Principles include a provision that, "Member economies will not relax health, safety and environmental regulations as an incentive to encourage foreign investment."[xxxiv] More so APEC has served as a forum where pro employee policies have been identified and suggested. Thus, a frame work already exists where ministers of trade and or ministers of the interior can meet to discuss the latest efforts each member state has taken and discuss further cooperation and coordination of efforts to combat human trafficking.

More so, APEC can serve as a place where the US can incentives cooperation in combating human trafficking by using free trade access to its domestic market. For instance if a country wishes to sell toys in the US market free of tariffs it must prove that the toys were no manufactured by trafficked persons, and must display a commitment to comply with the UN charter to combat human trafficking. Furthermore the US can ask for the institutionalization of policy within APEC where countries that wish join APEC must first join the trans-pacific ministerial forum on combating human trafficking. As a result, a country aspiring to join must prove its commitment to combating trafficking and meet the clear guidelines of anti-trafficking programs set up by APEC member states.

VI.Summation Free trade agreements such as NAFTA can serve as a destabilizing force within nation's who are attempting to transform their countries from protectionist economies to a free trade model. These destabilizing effects have been shown to lead to a greater push towards the trafficking of humans across borders. Thus, the United States policy in any future free trade agreements should be coupled with interregional or international cooperative systems aimed at combating human trafficking. Globalization can have positive outcomes in the battle against human trafficking if free trade agreements possess programs and regional initiatives that combat human trafficking on a local and regional level. The policy alterations discussed above in conjunction with many of the pre-existing criteria spelled out under the TVPA will help facilitate new mechanism to combat the issue of human trafficking. Also it is up to Immigration law attorneys in the United States to help navigate US policy towards a greater inclusiveness of immigration into the United States.

[i] Sarah Michelson, Trafficking and trade: How regional trade agreements can combat the trafficking of persons in Brazil, 25 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. (2008)

[ii] Anna Hecht, SHARED BUT DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSIBILITY: INTEGRATION OF INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS IN FIGHT AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, University of Denver (2008)

[iii]Economic Roots of Trafficking in the UNECE Region Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 10-year Review of Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action Geneva, Switzerland, 14-15 December 2004 /press/pr2004/04gen_n03e.htm

[iv] International Trade and Economic Growth: By Hendrik Van den Berg, Joshua J. Lewe, Goggle Books.

[v] United Nations, United Nations Charter, CHAPTER V: THE SECURITY COUNCIL /aboutun/charter/chapter5.shtml

[vi] United Nations, United Nations Charter,CHAPTER IV: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY /aboutun/charter/chapter4.shtml

[vii] Janie Chuang, THE UNITED STATES AS GLOBAL SHERIFF: USING UNILATERAL SANCTIONS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, 27 Mich. J. Int'l L. (2006)

[viii] Janie Chuang, THE UNITED STATES AS GLOBAL SHERIFF: USING UNILATERAL SANCTIONS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, 27 Mich. J. Int'l L. (2006)

[ix] Salvador A. Cicero-Domnguez, ASSESSING THE U.S.-MEXICO FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING: UNINTENDED RESULTS OF U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY, 4 Nw. U. J. Int'l Hum. Rts. 303. (2005)

[x] Claudine Chastain, THE NEXUS BETWEEN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THE TRAFFICKING OF HUMAN BEINGS,5Wash. U. Global. L. Rev. 587. (2006)

[xi] Sarah Michelson, Trafficking and trade: How regional trade agreements can combat the trafficking of persons in Brazil, 25 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. (2008)

[xii] ASEAN, Overview, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS, /64.htm

[xiii] Home, Bali Process - Regional Ministerial Process, /index.asp?pageID=2145831400

[xiv]Sarah Michelson, Trafficking and trade: How regional trade agreements can combat the trafficking of persons in Brazil, 25 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. (2008)

[xv] CIA Intelligence Handbook, Mexico, Economy, /library/the-world-factbook/goes/mx.html#Econ

[xvi]Jagdeep S. Bhandari, STRANGE VISIONS OF ALIEN SHADOWS, 13 Sw. J.L. & Trade Am. 63, (2006)

[xvii] Jagdeep S. Bhandari, STRANGE VISIONS OF ALIEN SHADOWS, 13 Sw. J.L. & Trade Am. 6, , (2006)

[xviii]Lu z Estella Nagle,SELLING SOULS: THE EFFECT OF GLOBALIZATION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND FORCED SERVITUDE, 26 WIILJ 131, (2008)

[xix]Luz Estella Nagle,SELLING SOULS: THE EFFECT OF GLOBALIZATION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND FORCED SERVITUDE, 26 WIILJ 131, (2008)

[xx] Salvador A. Cicero-Domnguez, ASSESSING THE U.S.-MEXICO FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING: UNINTENDED RESULTS OF U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY, 4 Nw. U. J. Int'l Hum. Rts. 303. (2005)

[xxi]NAFTA Secretariat, Legal text, Chapter Three: National Treatment and Market Access for Goods /

[xxii] NAFTA Secretariat, Legal text, Chapter Three: National Treatment and Market Access for Goods /

[xxiii] Brandy A. Bayer, EXPANSION OF NAFTA: ISSUES AND OBSTACLES REGARDING ACCESSION BY LATIN AMERICAN STATES AND ASSOCIATIONS, 26 Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 615. (1997)

[xxiv] Brandy A. Bayer, EXPANSION OF NAFTA: ISSUES AND OBSTACLES REGARDING ACCESSION BY LATIN AMERICAN STATES AND ASSOCIATIONS, 26 Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 615. (1997)

[xxv] Office of the Unites States Trade Representative, New Andean Trade Benefits, /Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2002/New_Andean_Trade_Benefts.html

[xxvi] Third Report to the Congress on the Operation of the Andean Trade Preference Act as Amended April 30, 2007. /assets/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/ATPA/asset_upload_file186_11132.pdf

[xxvii] Third Report to the Congress on the Operation of the A ndean Trade Preference Act as Amended April 30, 2007. /assets/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/ATPA/asset_upload_file186_11132.pdf

[xxviii] Office of the United States, Trade representative, CAFTA-DR Final Text /Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/CAFTA/CAFTA-DR_Final_Texts/Section_Index.html

[xxix] Claudine Chastain, THE NEXUS BETWEEN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THE TRAFFICKING OF HUMAN BEINGS,5Wash. U. Global. L. Rev. 587. (2006)

[xxx] Sarah Michelson, Trafficking and trade: How regional trade agreements can combat the trafficking of persons in Brazil, 25 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. (2008)

[xxxi] Greg J. Bamber, HOW IS THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) FORUM DEVELOPING? COMPARATIVE COMMENTS ON APEC AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS, 26 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol'y J 423. (2005)

[xxxii] About APEC, What is Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, /apec/about_apec.html

[xxxiii] Greg J. Bamber, HOW IS THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) FORUM DEVELOPING? COMPARATIVE COMMENTS ON APEC AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS, 26 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol'y J 423. (2005)

[xxxiv] Greg J. Bamber, HOW IS THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) FORUM DEVELOPING? COMPARATIVE COMMENTS ON APEC AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS, 26 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol'y J 423. (2005)