Could A US-EU Free Trade Deal Harm The WTO?

March 1 (Bloomberg Law) -- In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama announced plan...  More »

March 1 (Bloomberg Law) -- In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama announced plans to negotiate and execute a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. Jim Bacchus, partner at Greenberg Traurig LLP and former Democratic congressman from Florida, thinks a new deal could spur growth on both sides. "If I were still in the Congress. . . I would undoubtedly vote for it," he tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. Despite the apparent benefits, however, some critics worry that a new free trade agreement could be negotiated in a way that harms the current global trade system. The deal "raises fundamental questions about the future of the world trading system that the United States has spent half a century building," says Bacchus, who formerly served as a chairman of the WTO'S appellate body.  « Less