"In this paper, Sinclair and Traynor argue that the services and investment rules of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas Treaty (FTAA) present a grave threat to public services and public interest regulation throughout the Americas. They base their analysis on the neo-liberal philosophy that the smallest government is best government; they contend the FTAA would create intense pressure to privatize, deregulate, and erode existing public services.

In the authors' view, the FTAA would lock in neo-liberal policies that have already been adopted while preventing future governments from reversing privatization or creating new public services. They point out, however, that negotiations for an all-encompassing agreement have run into opposition recently, particularly due to South American left-leaning governments and a number of economic crises.

Sinclair and Traynor also explore the proposed broadened and deepened coverage of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, which they contend the US is pushing for. The authors conclude that FTAA member countries are increasingly recognizing the need to forge international alliances against the corrosive incursions of trade treaties, and to unite in strengthening public services, democratic institutions, and the ability of governments to regulate in the public interest."

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