$1 Trillion Free-Trade Agreement Now In Force

Despite strong anti-trade comments from President Trump, a $1 trillion free trade agreement went into effect on Wednesday, called the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  A CNN Money report says the agreement is designed to cut through red tape and help solve problems like border delays and transportation bottlenecks.

The World Trade Organization says it will cut a day and a half off the time needed to import goods and cut two days off the time need to export products.

The WTO’s Director-General says: “The Trade Facilitation Agreement is the biggest reform of global trade this century.”

WTO officials are predicting a 2.7% growth in trade around the world by 2030.  Officials also said the agreement will cut the cost of shipping goods to other countries by 14%.

The deal includes all 164 members of the World Trade Organization, including the United States. The U.S. approved the deal during the Obama Administration.  A spokesman for the current U.S. Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.

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