Why did the European Union （EU） conclude an Association Agreement （A.A）, rather than a free-trade agreement with Central American （CA） countries in 2010？ A CA-EU AA content analysis within the broader EU policy...Why did the European Union （EU） conclude an Association Agreement （A.A）, rather than a free-trade agreement with Central American （CA） countries in 2010？ A CA-EU AA content analysis within the broader EU policy approach towards Latin America suggests it to be （1） the only feasible option for each side at a time of increasing commercial flux; （2） mutually attractive against globalizing threats, thus converting an institutional innovation into a double-edged instrument; and （3） illustrative of the subtle but significant shift of farm-protection demands from endogenous dynamics to exogenous. They carry important implications： （1） empirically： weak CA-EU linkages further dilute West Europe＇s broader Latin ambitions; （2） theoretically： AA analyses better reflect trading realities than pure regional economic integration theories, suggesting the corrosive impact of globalizing forces on regional pursuits; and （3） historically： the continued role of the farm jinx in trade.展开更多
文摘Why did the European Union （EU） conclude an Association Agreement （A.A）, rather than a free-trade agreement with Central American （CA） countries in 2010？ A CA-EU AA content analysis within the broader EU policy approach towards Latin America suggests it to be （1） the only feasible option for each side at a time of increasing commercial flux; （2） mutually attractive against globalizing threats, thus converting an institutional innovation into a double-edged instrument; and （3） illustrative of the subtle but significant shift of farm-protection demands from endogenous dynamics to exogenous. They carry important implications： （1） empirically： weak CA-EU linkages further dilute West Europe＇s broader Latin ambitions; （2） theoretically： AA analyses better reflect trading realities than pure regional economic integration theories, suggesting the corrosive impact of globalizing forces on regional pursuits; and （3） historically： the continued role of the farm jinx in trade.
