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Fair Trade Archive: GTW E-Newsletters, Action Alerts, and Updates

State and Local Governance

Latest News Michigan Messenger: Secret U.S.-Europe trade pact could threaten local liquified natural gas regulations

Trade is no longer simply a federal matter. Today's international trade agreements delve deeply into matters of state law. Pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) contain numerous policy obligations and constraints to which U.S. federal, state and local governments are bound to conform their domestic policies.

These types of "trade" agreements are pushing an ever-increasing number of issues away from local or even national democratic decision-making and into inaccessible international venues where few citizens or even their elected representatives can follow.

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Spotlight on Your State!

»	Secret trade pact between US and Europe could void local laws

»	Case Summary: WTO Internet Gambling Case

»	NAFTA Reservations for Nonconforming Measures at the Subnational Level

»	Trade Agreement Threats to State Sovereignty

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