Congressional Research Service Reports - 17 Matching Results

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Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Background and Analysis

Description: This report is intended to serve as an introduction and primer on a complicated, broad, and often highly technical set of issues. It is presented in seven parts: the first section describes the nature and scope of U.S.-EU regulatory barriers; the second section explains the rationale for regulatory cooperation; the third section highlights the differences in U.S.-EU regulatory approaches; the fourth section examines the various forms of regulatory cooperation; the fifth section evaluates the re… more
Date: October 22, 2008
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress

Description: This report examines the specialty metal provision which was originally part of the Berry Amendment, the potential oversight issues for Congress, and options that Congress may wish to consider.
Date: October 28, 2008
Creator: Bailey Grasso, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Minerals Price Increases and Volatility: Causes and Consequences

Description: This report discusses China's efforts to improve and increase its access to foreign mineral resources, which may have the effect of raising prices for U.S. domestic industrial users. The report examines in detail the relationship between prices, production, and availability of selected metal minerals essential to the U.S. economy. It focuses on iron ore, aluminum (bauxite/alumina), copper, manganese, molybdenum (moly), zinc, platinum group metals (PGMs), and uranium.
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: Cooney, Stephen; Pirog, Robert; Folger, Peter; Humphries, Marc & Nanto, Dick K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

Description: This report is designed to assist Members of Congress as they consider the costs and benefits of the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA.) It examines the provisions of the KORUS FTA in the context of the overall U.S.-South Korean economic relationship, U.S. objectives, and South Korean objectives.
Date: October 17, 2008
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Manyin, Mark E.; Jones, Vivian C.; Cooney, Stephen; Jurenas, Remy & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

Description: This report addresses relevant policy questions in current U.S.-China relations, discusses trends and key legislation in the current Congress and provides a chronology of developments and high-level exchanges.
Date: October 9, 2008
Creator: Dumbaugh, Kerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade Preferences for Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Description: World Trade Organization (WTO) Members must grant immediate and unconditional most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment to the products of other Members regarding tariffs and other trade-related measures. Programs such as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), under which developed countries grant preferential tariff rates to developing country goods, are facially inconsistent with this obligation because they accord goods of some countries more favorable tariff treatment than that accorded to … more
Date: October 21, 2008
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Haitian Economy and the HOPE Act

Description: This report discusses the HOPE Act as it relates to the Haitian economy and U.S. trade policy. In providing preferential access to Haitian apparel imports, the HOPE Act, as amended, gives Haitian firms a competitive (price) advantage over other foreign producers who must pay U.S. duties on apparel exports made from yarns and fabrics supplied by non-regional (e.g., Asian) producers.
Date: October 1, 2008
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade

Description: This report discusses the different kinds of intellectual property rights (IPR); forms of IPR infringement; importance of IPR to the U.S. economy; estimated losses associated with IPR infringement; organizational structure of IPR protection in multilateral, regional, bilateral; U.S. government agencies involved with IPR and trade; and issues for Congress regarding IPR and international trade.
Date: October 20, 2008
Creator: Ilias, Shayerah & Fergusson, Ian F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Rising Oil Prices

Description: Petroleum prices have continued to rise sharply in 2008, at one time reaching more than $140 per barrel of crude oil. At the same time the average monthly volume of imports of energy-related petroleum products has fallen slightly. The combination of sharply rising prices and a slightly lower level of imports of energy-related petroleum products translates into an escalating cost for those imports. The prices of energy imports have been on a steady rise since summer of 2007, defying the pattern … more
Date: October 10, 2008
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: After instability during the late 1990s, Bahrain undertook substantial political reforms, but the Shiite majority continues to simmer over the Sunni-led government's perceived manipulation of laws and regulations to maintain its grip on power. Bahrain's stability has long been a key U.S. interest; it has hosted U.S. naval headquarters for the Gulf for nearly 60 years. In September 2004, the United States and Bahrain signed a free trade agreement (FTA).
Date: October 17, 2008
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China-U.S. Trade Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S.-China economic relations, surveys major trade disputes, and lists major legislation in the 110th that seeks to address these issues.
Date: October 7, 2008
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health and Safety Concerns Over U.S. Imports of Chinese Products: An Overview

Description: China is a major source of U.S. imports of consumer products (such as toys) and an increasingly important supplier of various food products. Reports of unsafe seafood, pet food, toys, tires, and other products imported from China over the past year or so have raised concern in the United States over the health, safety, and quality of imported Chinese products. This report provides an overview of this issue and implications for U.S.-China trade relations.
Date: October 17, 2008
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts

Description: This report provides an overview of the current status, trends, and forecasts for U.S. international trade. The purpose of this report is to provide current data and brief explanations for the various types of trade flows, particularly U.S. exports, along with a short discussion of particular trends and points of contention related to trade policy.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.; Ilias, Shayerah & Donnelly, J. Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Potential Offset Supply in a Cap-and-Trade Program

Description: This report discusses the enactment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction program, such as a cap-and-trade system. An estimate of the quantity and type of offset projects that might be available would provide for a more informed debate over the design elements of a cap-and-trade program.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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ATPA Renewal: Background and Issues

Description: The Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) extends special duty treatment to certain U.S. imports from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru that meet domestic content and other requirements. The purpose of ATPA is to promote economic growth in the Andean region and to encourage a shift away from dependence on illegal drugs by supporting legitimate economic activities. This report outlines the various aspects of the ATPA, including significant dates and modifications.
Date: October 27, 2008
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Description: This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments lending to emerging market and less-developed countries and (2) increased surveillance of the global economy through better coordination with the international financial regulatory agencies.
Date: October 27, 2008
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Description: This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments lending to emerging market and less-developed countries and (2) increased surveillance of the global economy through better coordination with the international financial regulatory agencies.
Date: October 30, 2008
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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