ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how free trade agreements limit the ability to make choices about regulation of the food chain and how to bring increased accountability and choice back into the system. It focuses on the push to reduce technical or non-tariff barriers to trade through bilateral and multilateral agreements and the impacts of those agreements on the balance of power among citizens, nations and corporations. First the structure and mechanisms by which free trade agreements limit national sovereignty are laid out, highlighting their impact on regulation of food production. The chapter focuses on the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the regulation and trade of pesticides in North America. It examines the options for increasing citizen power at both the national and international level. International trade agreements bring into sharp focus fundamental questions of power, sovereignty and values.
