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Our Dossier

This dossier documents the United States foreign trade policy and the US relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Important notice:
We are in the process of rebuilding our dossiers with statements and other documents of the new Administration.

Please use the tabs to access the three sections of this dossier:

Tab 1 lists US priorities with regard to the WTO, major USG statements, latest USG statements, USG fact sheets, and USG reports. 

Tab 2 lists nonofficial reports, journal articles, and other documents.

Tab 3 provides a set of links to major web sites.

If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact us through email.
 

U.S. Govt. Resources

 

Benefits of Trade
Costs of Protectionism
This E-Journal explains why everybody gains from trade liberalisation.

 

Congressional Research ServiceForeign Direct Investment:
Effects of a “Cheap” Dollar This CRS report discusses the question whether
the “cheap” dollar is leading to a “fire sale” of U.S. firms, especially of those firms that can be identified as part of the Nation’s defense industrial base.

 

Congressional Research ServiceUnited States’ Trade Remedy Laws and
Non-market Economies: A Legal Overview This CRS report gives an overview of the US Trade Remedy Laws.

 

Congressional Research ServiceTrade Primer: Q's and A's on Trade Concepts,
Performance, and Policy This CRS report explains how U.S. trade policy is made.

 

Congressional Research ServiceTrade Agreements:
Impact on the U.S. Economy This CRS report assesses the impact of the different trade agreements on the U.S. Economy.

 

Congressional Research ServiceWTO Decisions and Their Effect in U.S. Law This CRS report provides an overview of the effects of WTO decisions in U.S. law.

 

Congressional Research ServiceTrade Preferences for Developing Countries
and the WTO This CRS report discusses the relation between trade preferences and the WTO-system.
 

Congressional Research ServiceTrade Promotion Authority (TPA)/Fast-Track Renewal:
Labor Issues This CRS report examines issues relating to TPA/fast-track labor provisions in the larger context of global labor issues

 

Congressional Research ServiceThe World Trade Organization:
Background and Issues. This CRS report discusses the foundation of the WTO and current issues.

 

Congressional Research ServiceEurope’s New Trade Agenda This CRS report summarizes the EU’s new trade initiative, casts the initiative in historical perspective, and assesses the implications of this shift for the global trading system and for U.S. interests.
 

Major Reports on Trade and the WTO

2006 Economic Report of the President 2006 Economic Report of the President

 

 

2006 Trade Policy Agenda and 2005 Annual Report2006 Trade Policy Agenda and 2005 Annual Report

 

 

The United States Foreign Trade Policy and the WTO: A Dossier

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, right, and World Trade Organization (WTO) General-Director, French Pascal Lamy, left, answer journalist's questions prior to their meeting at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, January 12, 2007. (KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini)
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, right, and World Trade Organization (WTO) General-Director, French Pascal Lamy, left, answer journalist's questions prior to their meeting at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, January 12, 2007. (KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini)

Key U.S. Policy Priorities

bullet WTO as the foundation of the rules-bases multilateral trading system, and multilateral negotations.  After the collapse of the Doha talks in July 2008 U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab declared; "None of us can afford any diminution in this organization’s role as the guardian of a progressively liberalizing trading system based on non-discrimination and fair play for all. It also is the centerpiece in our efforts to bring the developing countries increasingly into the global economy on terms that enable them to benefit fully from the opportunities created by international trade."

bullet Support the creation of Regional Trade Agreements:

FTAA: The United States continues to support the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and is working to achieve this goal partly through the negotiation of subregional and bilateral trade agreements in the Western Hemisphere, says Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas Everett Eissenstat.

CAFTA: The U.S. - Central America Free Trade Agreement - Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR), signed August 5, 2004, is an historic agreement that creates the second-largest free trade zone in Latin America for U.S. exports. Under this agreement, the Dominican Republic joins the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) signed earlier in 2004 with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Upon entry into force, the CAFTA-DR agreement will eliminate eighty percent of the tariffs immediately, with the remaining tariffs phased out over 10 years.

bullet Maintain strong economic relations with China: In a September 20 statement announcing the creation of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, President Bush said that he and China’s president, Hu Jintao, had discussed the “importance of maintaining strong and mutually beneficial U.S.-China economic relations" and the need to establish such a framework. 
For further information on US-China relations see our China Dossier.

bullet Advance the Transatlantic Dialogue: The United States and the European Union share the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world, accounting for over $1.5 trillion. In order to ensure that this critically important economic relationship continues to thrive, President Bush and his EU counterparts established in 2002 the 'Positive Economic Agenda' to advance bilateral cooperation to reduce trade frictions and foster expanded transatlantic commerce.
 

Major US Government Statements

A select list of major statements on United States foreign trade with policy value.

Latest US Government Statements

The five most recent statements in reverse chronological order. 

US Government Fact Sheets

The five most recent fact sheets.

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