Bankrate, Inc., the Web's leading aggregator of financial rate information, published an article on President Barack Obama's decision to sign into law new U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The agreements were signed into law on Oct. 21, 2011 and marked the most significant change to U.S. trade policy since NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was signed into law in 1994. This time around, the U.S. free trade agreements address a wide variety of products and industries. While detractors exist, most experts agree that free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, respectively, will have a positive effect on the overall U.S. economy. "Manufacturing and services are the obvious sectors that will be directly impacted," says James Meyer, a partner at Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O'Connor Albert & Dribin LLP, a law firm based in Miami with a strong international trade practice. For the full article, go to:  http://www.bankrate.com/system/util/print.aspx?p=/finance/personal-finance/us-free-trade-agreements-1.aspx&s=br3&c=smart%20spending&t=story&e=1&v=1#ixzz1hHg6FoMn