Trading blocs in Americas could either boost or hinder global free trade
Regional free trade zones like NAFTA and the EU have been successful in recent years. This paper looks at how different types of trade agreements can either help or hurt global free trade. By comparing customs unions based on traditional comparative advantages versus economies of scale, the researchers found that the type of trade policies within the blocs can either encourage more global trade or lead to trade wars. The goal is to understand how trade patterns within these blocs affect trade relations among them.