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

Journal Articles

Disclaimer: The materials in this section are from sources outside the U.S. Government and should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein or as official U.S. policy.

Assessing the EC Trade Policy in Goods. Patrick A Messerlin. Jan Tumlir Policy Essay, 2007. pp. 1-22. The recent shift in European trade policy to negotiate bilateral agreements with no less than 24 countries is taking Europe into dangerous waters. In contrast to bilaterals envisaged by Chile, Japan, Korea, Singapore and the U.S., the bilaterals considered by the EC are characterized by high tariffs and non-tariff barriers in goods, and by restrictive regulations in services and investment. READ MORE

Scheve,  Kenneth; Slaughter, Matthew. A NEW DEAL FOR GLOBALIZATION. Foreign Affairs. July/August 2007. pp. 34-40. Full text available via ProQuest

The authors discusses the current discussions on protectionism and globalization in the US. And propose a more progressive tax system as a solution for the dwindling support for free trade. Kenneth F. Scheve is Professor of Political Science at Yale University. Matthew J. Slaughter is Professor of Economics at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and Adjunct Senior Fellow for Business and Globalization at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Griswold, Daniel. ARE TRADE DEFICITS A DRAG ON U.S. ECONOMIC GROWTH? Free Trade Bulletin, March 2007. n.p. Full text available from publisher website

An almost universal consensus prevails that the record U.S. trade deficit for 2006 was a drag on U.S. economic growth. The consensus reflects a basic assumption that growing imports to the United States displace domestic production, reducing growth of real gross domestic product. But the consensus on trade deficits and growth ignores the actual record of the U.S. economy in recent decades and the positive correlation of imports to domestic production. Daniel Griswold is director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute

Orszag, Peter; Deich, Michael. GROWTH, OPPORTUNITY AND PROSPERITY IN A GLOBALIZING ECONOMY. A Hamilton Project Strategy Paper, July 2006. n.p. Full text available from publisher website

International trade presents our nation with a complex and growing challenge. On the one hand, the global system of open trade has brought substantial and widespread benefits to the U.S. economy. On the other hand, trade has led to dislocation in certain industries and has introduced new risks and uncertainties into the lives of many American workers. Achieving an equitable distribution of the benefits and costs of trade will require strong, effective government policies. The need for such policies will only grow more urgent, as nations like China and India become increasingly dominant forces in the world economy. Peter R. is a Director of the The Hamilton Project, Michael Deich is Managing Director at The Hamilton Project.

Ricker, Tom; Stansbury, Burke. THE CAFTA CHRONICLES: STRONG-ARMING CENTRAL AMERICA, MOCKING DEMOCRACY. Multinational Monitor, January/February 2006. pp. 21-25. Full text available via ProQuest

Like the negotiations and the ratification of CAFTA, the implementation process is undemocratic, lacks transparency, and demonstrates the subordination of the six countries involved to US corporate interests. The original date is now past, and the Bush administration is adopting a strategy of "rolling implementation." Tom Richer is the co-director of the Quixote Center, based in Hyattsville, Maryland. Burke Stansbury is executive director of the New York City-based Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES).
 

Effland, Anne; Normile, Mary Anne; Wainio, John;  Regmi, Anita. GLOBAL AGRICULTURE AND THE DOHA ROUND: MARKET ACCES IS THE KEY. Amber Waves, September 2006. pp. 22-27. Full text available via ProQuest

Agriculture has taken center stage in the Doha Round, as it did in the Uruguay Round. Developing countries may find tariffs a particularly valuable revenue source, as well as a means of controlling imports to manage their balance of payments. Developing countries generally lack the financial resources to support farmers directly. Import barriers can be a means of protecting less productive or small-scale agriculture that sustains rural communities and employs much of the population. The Authors work for the US Department of Agriculture.
 

Bartlett, Bruce THE PRESIDENT'S ROTTEN RECORD ON TRADE. Reason, June 2006, pp. 48-55. .

Bartlett says that Bush is the most protectionist president since Hoover. Bush's repeated use of protectionist measures (steel tariffs, farm subsidies, Canadian lumber tariffs, Chinese textile restrictions) and preference for bilateral trade agreements has probably placed free trade in its weakest position since the 1920s, he asserts. The dangers associated with protectionism -- such as retaliatory protectionist moves and economic inefficiency -- will likely lead to future trade skirmishes and wars that will lower the living standards for all U.S. citizens, he writes.

Arnold, Patricia J.; Reeves, Terrie C. INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND HEALTH POLICY: IMPLICATIONS OF THE GATS FOR US HEALTHCARE REFORM.  Journal of Business Ethics. February 2006. pp. 313-332.  Full text available via ProQuest

This paper examines the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the World Trade Organization's agreement governing trade in health-related services, for health policy and healthcare reform in the United States. Patricia J. Arnold is an Associate Professor in Accounting at Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, Terrie C. Reevesis an Assistant Professor in Management at Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business.