I’m a little skeptical on the need for all these “Free Trade” agreements. If I want to buy coffee from Juan Valdez That should be between him and I. The governmental morass of these treaties seems to only complicate these transactions.
Agreed. I've often argued that the U.S. should just cut import taxes and to hell w/ foreign tax collectors. The thing is that when Sr. Valdez sells me coffee he always wants to be paid in pesos, and those I can only get when I sell my goods to Valdez' neighbors.
Colombian tax hikes mean less coffee for me and that's why bilateral tax-cuts save me more money than the unilateral kind.