Annotation:
This Report was prepared in support of lobbying efforts urging the US government to conduct gender assessments of its trade policies and agreements. The authors outline several reasons as to why such assessments are warranted, including both domestic and international legal precedent, and then develop a framework that examines both the legal and economic impacts of trade agreements on women in the United States and partner countries. The authors assess the gender impacts of trade agreements in different sectors and thematic areas of particular relevance to women such as agriculture, manufacturing, and human rights. In order to avoid undermining international and constitutional equality guarantees for women, the legal and regulatory component of the framework calls for a content assessment of laws and norms that determine women's status in a particular country.