It may come as something of a surprise, critics point out, but so-called free-trade pacts often come with an enormous amount of rules, bureaucracies and regulatory baggage.

In 1790, the U.S. Tariff Code consisted of one page -- but it now contains 8,753 separate rates.

• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is set out in 22,000 pages.

• The 2,000 page North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) includes 900 pages of tariffs -- as well as environmental protection rules; child labor, health and safety rules; and minimum-wage rules.

• There are 3,600 categories of U.S. import quotas.

Administering the complexities of "free trade" requires armies of bureaucrats, critics point out.

NAFTA set up an International Commission for Labor Cooperation complete with a Secretariat -- as well as administrative offices in three nations, evaluation committees of experts, dispute settlement panels and a Ministerial Council. To pay for this bureaucracy, U.S. taxpayers have had to put up $7.5 billion in loan guarantees and foreign aid.

Critics contend genuine free trade requires no negotiations, treaties, superpower creations or presidential summits -- just cuts in tariffs, quotas, taxes and regulations.