Foreign trade agreements are not about trade.

Buried in this nerdy post refuting US Chamber of Commerce contentions that free trade agreements will reduce the US current account deficit are these gems. The US Trade Representative has recently stated that prior trade agreements have resulted in increased trade surpluses for our trading partners and increased trade deficits for the US and that the same should be expected in future trade agreements. The real purpose of "trade agreements" is to serve as delivery mechanisms for deregulation abroad and at home.