"Free trade agreements no guaranteed recipe for success"

[WhiskeyGirl]

Free trade agreements no guaranteed recipe for success

The Obama administration and the U.S Chamber of Commerce, among others (editorial, 9-5), are pushing to implement a free trade agreement with South Korea as soon as possible.

Some of these countries are very small trading partners, which makes me wonder why bother with FTAs with them. Isn’t the World Trade Organization’s platform good enough?

Free trade agreements paint a mixed picture. If they are judged purely on their economic merits, some are of questionable value. Each country has a different commercial story to tell, and wholesale comparisons cannot be made between the 11 agreements in existence.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/09/1333736/free-trade-agreements-no-guaranteed.html#ixzz0zav28ATU

Where is the upside for the American worker?  American business?

Who gets all the upside?  Large global players?

Drug gangs?