Question: Outline the basic functions of GATT, WTO, NAFTA, FTAA, CAFTA-DR, and the European Union. The General Agreement on Tariff s and Trade is an accord that has substantially reduced tariff s. The World Trade Organization oversees GATT agreements, mediates disputes, and tries to reduce trade barriers throughout the world. The North American Free Trade Agreement removes trade restrictions among Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas seeks to create a free-trade area covering the entire Western hemisphere. As another step in that direction, the United States has made an agreement with the Dominican Republic and Central American nations known as the Central American Free Trade Agreement-DR (CAFTA-DR). The European Union is a customs union whose goal is to remove all barriers to free trade among its members.