Read the following agreement and discuss how you think these trade agreements have impacted the United States. Be sure to include in your response something about which Americans benefit form the agreement, which Americans are hurt by the agreement, and the impact the agreement has had on GDP.
The Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement exists between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. It was signed into effect on August 5, 2004. This trade agreement helped out U.S. exporters of petroleum products, plastics, paper, and textiles. It also helped US manufacturers of vehicles, medical supplies, and electronic products. CAFTA removed tariffs such as one on U.S. consumer and industrial exports. The pros of this trade agreement are that these smaller developing countries benefited and are doing much better economically today while the cons are that many small local farmers in these countries were unable to compete.