More than sixteen months after its signing, the U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is now in the hands of the U.S. Congress.

After a rocky start, the free trade pact linking the U.S., Central America and the Dominican Republic finally takes off.

A fierce debate rages over whether globalization reduces or increases poverty and inequality. The evidence doesn't always provide comfortable answers for either side. Read the full article in the Spring 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly.

The isolated killings of union members in Colombia do not justify holding up a U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, writes Edward Schumacher-Matos, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and a visiting professor of Latin American studies at Harvard University.

While the U.S. presidential race sparks debate about NAFTA, officials spar over a U.S.-Mexico pilot trucking program. Critics raise fears about Mexican truckers on U.S. roads, but the Department of Transportation finds the project benefits U.S. truckers and trade.

With Brazil's economy holding steady in the face of worldwide financial worries, the country could play a leadership role on matters ranging from trade to economic policy. Yet concerns about a possible global downturn remain. 

In the Calgary Herald, AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal explains how, despite candidates' anti-NAFTA talk, the pact has proven a crucial investment and trade tool. "In a campaign about optimism and the promise of America, anti-NAFTA rhetoric simply doesn't fit," writes Segal.