Not Substantially All Trade experts this week noted that the U.S.– Japan trade agreement might violate the WTO’s Article XXIV requirement that free trade agreements encompass “substantially all” trade between the participating countries. The agreement encompasses something less than 70 percent of all trade and while there is no agreed WTO metric defining substantially, some say the interpretation is 90 percent of trade. The U.S. has heretofore prided itself on negotiating more comprehensive free trade agreements, with some criticism of the substantial exclusions for agriculture in agreements negotiated by other countries. The U.S. will likely characterize the Japan agreement as interim, since the intent is to conti...

TAGS – China, North America