In reality, the distinction between bilateral and multilateral agreements is inconclusive. In addition to the central multilateral agreement, the TPP is considering a series of bilateral agreements between various TPP partners. These bilateral agreements are in the form of annexes and annexes. A good example of such a bilateral agreement has been concluded between the United States and Japan. Although the United States and Japan were part of the TPP group, the two countries entered into an incidental agreement specifically for automobiles. In 2015, Japan produced a total of 9,278,238 automobiles. Although it is one of the largest automakers, Japan limits imports of automobiles produced in other countries. The bilateral agreement and multilateral provisions aimed to open up the Japanese market to U.S. producers by removing non-tariff barriers through increased regulatory transparency and reduced standards and technologies. The free trade agreement between the Central Republic and the Dominican Republic was signed on 5 August 2004.

CAFTA-DR has eliminated tariffs on more than 80% of U.S. exports to six countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. By November 2019, it had increased trade by 104%, from $2.44 billion in January 2005 to $4.97 billion. Proponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership had argued that one of the greatest virtues of the 12-nation trade agreement was that it opened up Japanese markets to the United States. in a way that Japan only wanted to tolerate because the TPP also promised to improve market access for Japanese exporters in other TPP member countries in Asia and Latin America. Is it possible to negotiate a bilateral pact with Japan that would provide the United States with the same value – or better – that the TPP would have provided? “That`s the problem,” Guillen says. “Do these [bilateral] agreements open markets? It seems that the approach is ad hoc, on a case-by-case basis, and not holistic. Within weeks, the Trump administration rejected the troubled Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and announced plans to renegotiate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. Trade advisers in the new government led by economist Peter Navarro say greater reliance on bilateral – and non-multilateral – trade agreements will allow the United States to do so.