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Fast Track Trade Authority And The Free Trade Agreements: Implications For Copyright Law, Samuel Trosow

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act, which restored the presidential fast-track trade-promotion authority that had lapsed in 1994. Fast-track trade promotion authority is a means by which Congress delegates to the president a portion of its constitutional authority over international trade policy. This paper reviews the development, scope, and application of fast-track trade-promotion authority, evaluates some of the copyright provisions in key Free Trade Agreements, and concludes that the process has been effectively captured by the information and entertainment industries. There are numerous negative consequences that flow from the resulting policy environment. Not only is an …