North American Regional Economic Integration: Recent Trends and Developments

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a series of initiatives to expand and enhance economic integration across North America.1 This chapter reviews the most important of these integration efforts, including the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas; the North American Free Trade Agreement; the Dominican Republic – Central America – United States Free Trade Agreement; the Central American Common Market; the CARICOM Single Market; and efforts to create an Economic Union under the auspices of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. In each instance, I provide a brief overview of the agreement; describe recent political, economic and legal developments; and review dispute settlement activity. A brief conclusion follows.