The Central America-EU Association Agreement : The EU's Trade Liberalization Policy and the WTO

This paper examines the Association Agreement between the EU and six Member States of the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA), in particular Part IV of the Agreement (trade). More specifically, the paper is concerned with the repetition and reinforcement of WTO norms in the Agreement, accompanied by a limited “export” of the acquis communautaire. The study of this Agreement should contribute to a better understanding of how the EU uses association agreements to foster or create free trade areas beyond its borders, as well as the ever more complex relationship between the WTO and preferential trade agreements