The CAFTA text is consistent with U.S. positions in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements: aggressive market access, particularly regarding agriculture and the services industries; demanding of strong intellectual property and investment protection, very weak on protection for environment and labor; and calling for elimination of agricultural export subsidies. The text stipulates committees for both regular and emergency consultations regarding market access, sanitary and phytosanitary matters (largely food safety regulations and their implementation) and technical barriers to trade.

Aspects of CAFTA that would pertain to agricultural trade and agribusiness investment are distributed through several chapters. In this brief review are considered some of the aspects in the following order: Chapter 6: Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures; Chapter Fifteen: Intellectual Property Rights; Chapter Three: National Treatment and Market Access for Goods; Annexes to Chapter 3; and Chapter Ten: Investment. This article provides a brief review of these chapters.