Fast Track Authority and International Trade Negotiations

Paola Conconi (), Giovanni Facchini () and Maurizio Zanardi ()

No 6790, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Fast Track Authority (FTA) is the institutional procedure in the Unites States whereby Congress grants to the President the power to negotiate international trade agreements. Under FTA, Congress can only approve or reject negotiated trade deals, with no possibility of amending them. In this paper, we examine the determinants of FTA voting decisions and the implications of this institutional procedure for trade negotiations. We describe a simple two-country trade model, in which industries are unevenly distributed across constituencies. In the foreign country, trade negotiating authority is delegated to the executive, while in the home country Congress can retain the power to amend trade agreements. We show that legislators’ FTA voting behavior depends on the trade policy interests of their own constituencies as well as those of the majority of Congress. Empirical analysis of the determinants of all FTA votes between 1974 (when fast track was first introduced) and 2002 (when it was last granted) provides strong support for the predictions of our model.

Keywords: Fast Track Authority; Strategic Delegation; Trade Negotiations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 F13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-pol
Date: 2008-04
View list of references View citations in EconPapers

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP6790.asp (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Working Paper: Fast Track Authority and International Trade Negotiations (2008)
Working Paper: Fast Track Authority and International Trade Negotiations (2008)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6790

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP6790.asp

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers
Address: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 53--56 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DG
Series data maintained by ().