The North American Free Trade Agreement as been battered lately with sharp criticisms and calls has been made to withdrawal from it. In an op-ed, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez argues that this would be a disaster, hurting the U.S. economy, its workers, and its communities.

It may soon be time to pronounce last rites on the current path of U.S. trade policy in the Americas. With the presidential election season well underway, it is a good time to step back and consider where to go from here, writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in the latest issue of Poder magazine.

Has the United States "lost" Latin America? AS/COA Senior Policy Director Christopher Sabatini and COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth explore the shared responsibility between U.S. and Latin American leaders in the breakdown of hemispheric consensus around democracy and open markets.

In a Miami Herald op-ed, Colombia's Vice President Francisco Santos underlines the importance of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S., which is currently pending approval in Congress.

Senior Policy Director and Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief Christopher Sabatini examines why Latin America remains one of the most inflexible regions in terms of labor markets. He suggests swift labor law reforms to attract foreign investment, increase productivity, and social protections for their workforce.

Finding balance between enforcing immigration laws and maintaining a sound, competitive state economy are priorities over the rhetoric clouding the immigration debate, writes Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine.

Social programs in many Latin American countries require identification to access services, yet lack of documentation prevents those most in need from receiving benefits, writes Suzanne Duryea, a senior economist of the Inter-American Development Bank.