The Baker Institute's Tax and Expenditure Policy Program is hosting a discussion of the economic advantages and disadvantages of free trade agreements between the United States and Latin America. This is a timely and important topic as bilateral free trade agreements with Colombia, Peru and Panama are being debated in the U.S. Congress and in the light of Costa Rica's recent narrow vote to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez, 35th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, discusses the future of free trade agreements as part of the Robert A. Mosbacher Global Issues Series. In honor of former Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher, Sr., the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy has established the Global Issues Series in his name. Through this endowment, the institute will foster constructive public policy dialogue and academic exchanges on the role of international trade and commerce as a fundamental factor for economic and social development in emerging countries.
