This is the sixth in a series of annual workshops designed to produce economic analysis and information on Mexico/United States/Canada trade and policy issues in the agricultural/agri-food industries. Held in San Diego, CA and attended by academic and government economists, and industry and interest group representatives. This publication consists of the papers and discussion comments presented. It is intended for readers with a general interest in the North American agricultural and food sector and effects of trade agreements on markets and trade. The material is also intended to be relevant to decision makers at all levels of the food chain to inform on economic relationships and market reality as a means to reducing trade and policy stress.

In his new book, Ernest Preeg analyzes international trade and investment in the 1990s and lays out a comprehensive U.S. trade strategy for the uncertain period ahead. He examines the influence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and argues that economic globalization is beneficial to the U.S. economy in the short- to medium-term while raising important questions about national sovereignty and security over the longer term. Preeg believes regional free trade agreements will soon encompass the majority of world trade, but they can conflict with the WTO's multilateral objectives. The central challenge for U.S. trade strategy, then, is to integrate the now largely separate multilateral and regional tracks of the world trading system. The first essay assesses U.S. interests in economic globalization, the second examines recent steps toward free trade at the multilateral and regional levels, and the next three offer an in-depth critique of U.S. regional free trade objectives in the Americas, across the Pacific, and possibly with Europe. The final essay presents a multilateral/regional synthesis for going from here to free trade over the coming decade.