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- U.S. Trade Performance: Recent Trends and Prospects
- Report ...
- Regional Free Trade Partners and U.S. Interests: What's Next?
- No Description Available.
- The GATT and the WTO: An Overview
- Under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), eight rounds of trade negotiations lowered tariffs of developed countries to an average 3.9 percent. New areas, such as services, intellectual property rights, agriculture, and textiles and apparel, were brought under the discipline of the GATT for the first time in the Uruguay Round. The World Trade Organization (WTO), a permanent entity agreed on during the Uruguay Round, went into effect January 1, 1995. Multilateral trade issues for the future include continuing services negotiations, the relationship of the environment and labor standards to trade, and investment and competition policy.
- Japan's Global Trade Surplus: Its Nature and Significance
- Japan's global current account surplus is expected to reach $150 billion in 1993, up substantially from a modest $36 billion in 1990. The movement of Japan's current account surplus in this period is, perhaps, more dramatic as a share of GDP, going from a substantial 3.6 percent in 1987, down to a modest 1.2 percent in 1990, and up again to about 3.1 percent in 1992. Japan's growing surplus is criticized as a consequence of that country's barriers to trade, and as a drag on the economic recovery of the world economy.
- Japan-U.S. Trade: Results of Trade Negotiations
- ave Japan's trade concessions resulted in more U.S. exports? One premise of the more results-oriented trade policy toward Japan now being pursued is that past concessions have not caused U.S. exports to Japan to rise. The only success story seems to be that of semiconductors in which a specific goal of 20 percent of the Japanese market was set and attained.
- United States Trade and Trade Balance with Japan 1958-1993: A Brief Historical Overview
- The purpose of this brief report is to appraise Congress of some relevant perspectives concerning the experience of U.S.-Japan merchandise trade since 1968. For the first seven years of the period under review, more American goods were sold to Japan than imported from that nascent major Asian economy, which has been,however, trailing Canada by far as our second top trading partner. Somewhat normally acceptable trade deficits were registered between 1966 and 1979, after which the growth of trade imbalances became unprecedented.
- Multilateral Agreement on Investment: Implications for the United States
- Ministers of the 29 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have struggled since 1995 to negotiate a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Negotiations on many aspects of a final agreement have progressed rapidly, but OECD members have been unable to resolve numerous thorny issues before the latest deadline set for the OECD Ministerial meeting in April 1998. U.S. negotiators have indicated that they will not sign the present agreement without significant changes and oppose establishing another deadline.
- Japan's Import Protection: Quantitative Measures and Effects on U.S. Exports
- Some indirect measures of Japan's import barriers indicate that Japan's import behavior is unusual, but some do not. Japan's trade surplus is large, but the United States exports as much to that market as it does to other major industrialized nations. Japan's imports of manufactures, however, are low relative to levels in other industrialized nations.
- The U.S.-EC Japan Trade Triangle
- The world has entered the age of the economic triad of Europe, North America, and East Asia. These geo-economic centers comprise the leading industrial regions of the world and increasingly set international trade policy, generate consumer and industry trends, and provide much of the capital and expertise for the rest of the globe. Within these regions, the United States, the European Community (EC), and Japan take the leadership roles.
- Agricultural Exports: Technical Barriers to Trade
- Technical barriers to trade (TBTs) are widely divergent measures that countries use to regulate rnarkets, protect their consumers, and preserve natural resources, but which can also discriminate against imports in favor of domestic products. Most TBTs in agriculture are sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures designed to protect humans, animals, and plants from contaminants, diseases, and pests. In the wake of new trade agreements aimed at reducing tariffs, import quotas, and other trade barriers, TBTs have become more prominent concerns for agricultural exporters and policymakers.
- Japan and NAFTA
- Japan, as an issue, has entered the debate over U.S. approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in several ways. The Clinton Administration has argued that Americans should support NAFTA because if it fails to pass Congress, Japan will rush to negotiate a similar arrangement with Mexico. Proponents of NAFTA also have argued that since Japan opposes NAFTA (because of its presumed protectionism and the benefits it provides to North American businesses), it must be "good for America." Opponents of NAFTA argue that the agreement would provide opportunities for Japanese manufacturers to invest in Mexico and export unfettered to the American market. Also, they assert that NAFTA would be like previous trade agreements, particularly with Japan, that have ended up hurting the U.S. economy. In either case, the effects of NAFTA on Japan would likely be small.
- JETRO and International Trade Promotion by Japan
- JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization, has played a key role in Japan's system for trade promotion. It is a public corporation, a quasi-governmental organization, operating under the general supervision of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
- NAFTA: Economic Effects on the United States After Three Years
- The main economic benefit of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is that, over time, it is expected to increase productivity and incomes in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In the near term, some reallocation of resources occurs within each country, generating gains for some producers and workers and costs for others. Since the Mexican and Canadian economies are small relative to the U.S. economy, both the long-term benefits and short-term adjustment costs of the NAFTA to the United States are expected to be small. The data suggest that NAFTA has had a positive, but small, effect on U.S. trade with Mexico and that U.S. direct investment in Mexico remains very small relative to total U.S. investment abroad. NAFTA-related job losses of almost 100,000 since 1994 are also very small compared with U.S. employment of 130 million (no data exist on jobs created by NAFTA).
- The GATT and the WTO: An Overview
- The Uruguay Round Agreement reduced tariffs, brought services, intellectual property, and agriculture under the discipline of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and established the World Trade Organization. Multilateral trade issues for the future include continuing services negotiations, the relationship of the environment and labor standards to trade, and investment and competition policy.
- Japan-U.S. Trade Negotiations Under the Framework: Status and Alternative Approaches
- It has been more than a year since the United States and Japan established their bilateral framework for trade negotiations and other economic relations. The framework set down rules and deadlines to address various economic issues, particularly market access in Japan for U.S. exports and the Japanese global trade surplus. The two sides have failed to reach agreements on any of the major issues. The United States is left with several policy options to resolve the breakdown in trade negotiations.
- Japan-U.S. Trade Negotiations: Will the Deadlock Be Broken?
- The United States and Japan have been deadlocked for over a year in an effort to reach agreements under the July 1993 Framework for a New Economic Relationship. The overriding obstacle has concerned the issue of how to measure progress under future agreements to open Japan's market further to foreign goods and services.
- U.S.-Japanese Trade: The Semiconductor Arrangement
- On June 4, 1991, the United States and Japan agreed to a five-year arrangement to open Japan,s market to U.S.-origin semiconductor devices, replacing a 1986 agreement that was due to expire. Unlike other U.S.-Japanese trade agreement, the U.S.-Japanese Semiconductor Arrangement stipulates a quantifiable objective (20 percent of the Japanese market for foreign-produced semiconductors). It is often identified by those who want the United States to undertake a "results-oriented" trade policy toward Japan as a model for future US.-Japanese trade agreements. The semiconductor arrangement raises several questions for U.S.- Japanese trade and U.S. trade policy: Has its achieved its objectives? Should the agreement be used as a model for resolving other U.S.- Japanese market access disputes?
- Fast-Track Trade Negotiating Authority: A Comparison of 105th Congress Legislative Proposals
- This report provides a side-by-side comparison of H.R. 2621 and S. 2400, as reported, 105th Congress bills that would provide the President with trade negotiating authority and accord certain resulting agreements and implementing bills expedited -- or "fast-track" -- legislative consideration.
- The China-U.S. Intellectual Property Rights Dispute: Background and Implications for China-U.S. Economic Relations
- The United States has pressed China over the past several years to improve its protection of U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR) and to afford greater market access to intellectual property-related products, such as computer software, compact disks (CDs), and audio-visual products. U.S. threats of trade sanctions against Chinese products helped produce trade agreements in January 1992 and February 1995 that pledged China to improve its IPR enforcement regime and expand market access for IPR-related products. However, despite these agreements, U.S. and IPR industry officials have charged that IPR piracy in China remains rampant and is costing U.S. firms $2.3 billion in lost trade annually. On May 15, 1996, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) threatened to impose approximately $2 billion in trade sanctions against China for failing to abide by the February 1995 IPR agreement. This report outlines the history of the U.S.-Chinese IPR dispute and examines its ramifications for future U.S.-Chinese economic relations.
- Fast-Track Trade Negotiating Authority: A Comparison of 105th Congress Legislative Proposals
- This report provides a side-by-side comparison of the reported versions of H.R. 2621 and S. 1269, 105 Congress bills that would provide the President with trade negotiating authority and accord certain resulting agreements and implementing bills expedited -- or “fast-track” -- legislative consideration.
- CBI/NAFTA Parity Proposals: A Comparison
- The tariff and quota treatment of U.S. imports from Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement has resulted in a distinct and increasing competitive disadvantage for imports from the beneficiary countries of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). To eliminate this disadvantage, proposals have been made to extend to imports from Caribbean Basin countries preferential treatment equivalent to that accorded imports of identical goods from Mexico. This report compares the provisions of four such proposals: Title I of H.R. 984, Title I of S. 371, H.R. 1834, and S. 1389.
- Trade and Environment: GATT and NAFTA
- Environmental concerns in trade negotiations have received extensive attention by policymakers both with regard to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- The European Community - Japan Automobile Agreement
- The European Community (EC) and Japan reached an agreement on trade in automobiles in July 1991. The agreement restricts exports of automobiles from Japan to the EC to 1.23 million cars per year until the end of 1999. The Commission of the European Communities estimates that Japanese transplant production in the EC will amount to 1.2 million cars per year in 1999. The Japanese appear to concur with this estimate but do not agree that it constitutes a cap on transplant investment or production. Whether the agreement covers the export of U.S.-built Japanese transplants to the EC is unclear. If the agreement covers, or has the effect of discouraging, such exports, it would be a cause for concern for U.S. policymakers. U.S. trade officials have reportedly discussed the issue with Japanese counterparts. It is unknown whether U.S. concerns have been addressed to European Community (EC) officials.
- Congress and Trade Policy Toward Japan
- Congressional policymaking with respect to trade with Japan is driven by strong domestic interests, appeals to broad political principles, and numerous horror stories. The $43 billion U.S. trade deficit with Japan continues to be a focus of attention, but the deficit is an issue because it reflects aggressive competition between Japanese companies and U.S. industries.
- Most-Favored-Nation Status Policy of the United States
- While the United States accords most-favored-nation (nondiscriminatory) treatment to many foreign countries on the basis of bilateral trade treaties or agreements, and to many more by virtue of being a signatory of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, MFN treatment is applied mostly as a matter of statutory policy generally to all trading partners except those whose MFN status has been suspended by specific legislation. Virtually all suspensions have been carried out under the mandate of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951.
- U.S. Agriculture and the International Monetary Fund
- Congress is considering legislation to provide supplemental resources to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen its ability to deal with future financial crises like those currently in Asia and in 1994-95 in Mexico. many in U.S.
- The U.S. Tobacco Industry in Domestic and World Markets
- No Description Available.
- Japan-U.S. Trade: The Construction Services Issue
- This report discusses the issues of the U.S.-Japanese trade relations of the Reagan and Bush Administrations, and the Clinton Administration.
- Japan-U.S. Automotive Framework Talks
- The U.S.-Japan framework talks were initiated in July 1993. The automotive negotiations between Japan and the United States focused on sales of U.S. vehicles in Japan; sales of U.S.-made original equipment parts in Japan and to Japanese transplants in the United States; and deregulation of the market for replacement parts in Japan. An unresolved dispute over shock absorbers and other replacement parts resulted in the United States launching a formal investigation of Japanese market barriers to imported car parts under Section 301 on Oct. 1, 1994.
- Japan-U.S. Trade U.S. Exports of Negotiated Products, 1985-1990
- Trade relations between the United States and Japan in the 1980s were marked by U.S. efforts to pressure Japan to absorb increasingly greater amounts of U.S. exports. The United States sought to improve its steadily worsening bilateral trade deficit with Japan by negotiating to lower barriers to U.S. exports through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Market Oriented, Sector Selective Talks, the Super 301 process, the Structural Impediments Initiative, and other bilateral fora. The United States succeeded in having Japan take some market-opening measures, and despite fluctuations, U.S. exports to Japan of most of the products which were the subject of negotiations by the two countries between 1985 and 1990 have increased.
- Agriculture and Fast Track Trade Legislation
- This report considers the issue of new "fast track" in Congress. The report discusses that the new legislation could be used to negotiate new trade deals with countries in Latin America and Asia. Moreover, the report summarizes the agricultural debates on the issue.
- APEC - Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation: Free Trade and Other Issues
- As a result of an initiative by Australia in 1989, the United States joined with eleven other Asia/Pacific nations in creating APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation organization. This report discusses the annual Ministerial Meeting of APEC in Seattle, held from November 17 - 19, 1993.
- Trade Agreements: Renewing the Negotiating and Fast-Track Implementing Authority
- Legislation authorizing the negotiation and, where required, fast-track implementation of trade agreements expired in early 1994. Action in the 104th Congress to renew the authority, prompted in part by the near-term prospect of the negotiation of a free-trade agreement with Chile, which might later be followed by other agreements, reached an impasse in late 1995 because of a disagreement between Congress and the Administration as to the inclusion of labor and environmental issues in agreements approved by fast-track procedure.
- U.S.-European Agricultural Trade: Food Safety and Biotechnology Issues
- The European Union (EU) is the second largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. The EU's ban on meat produced using growth-promoting hormones is a food safety issue that has been particularly contentious in U.S.-EU agricultural trade relations. EU policy on bio-engineered products has also been an issue. A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has ruled that the ban contravenes the EU's international obligations under the WTO, but left open the option to the EU to conduct a risk assessment of hormone-treated meat. Rules governing trade in bio-engineered products may become an issue in WTO agricultural trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 1999. This report will be updated as events warrant.
- Japan and an East Asian Trading Bloc
- The 1990s are likely to be known as the decade of the trading blocs, although these neo-blocs differ considerably from those of the 1930s. Countries are linking to liberalize the flow of trade and investments across their borders without necessarily raising external barriers. The European Community and the European Free Trade Association are linking to create a European Economic Area, and the United States and Canada have joined in negotiations with Mexico to conclude a North America Free Trade Agreement. In Asia, nations have been studying the idea of a similar arrangement for themselves.
- APEC and Free Trade in the Asia Pacific
- This report discusses the summit held by President Bill Clinton and other leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on November 19, 1995. The report discusses the primary reason for the summit, an Action Agenda intended to lead to free and open trade and investment among its members. The report also discusses how APEC countries were divided on certain issues going into this summit.
- Section 301: Its Operation and Prospects for Future Use by the United States
- Sections 301 through 309 of the Trade Act of 1974 (as amended), commonly referred to as Section 301, is one of principal means by which the United States addresses "unfair" foreign barriers to U.S. exports and enforces U.S. rights under trade agreements.
- H.R. 5100: Major Trade Legislation of the 102d Congress
- The 102d Congress considered H.R. 5100, the Trade Expansion Act of 1992, an omnibus trade bill covering a wide range of issues. The bill became the legislative vehicle for a variety of pending trade bills. H.R. 5100 was reported by the House Ways and Means Committee on June 23, 1992, taken up by the House on July 8,1992, amended, and passed. However, the bill received no action in the Senate. H.R. 5100 included provisions pertaining to market access for various U.S.
- Agriculture and Fast Track Trade Legislation
- Senate and House committees in October reported legislation for new fast track authority enabling the Administration to negotiate trade agreements with foreign countries and to submit them to Congress for consideration under expedited procedures. Many agricultural and food industry interests are among the export-dependent enterprises that support new fast track authority, arguing that foreign trading partners will not seriously negotiate with an Administration that lacks it. However, some agricultural groups argue that fast track provides them with inadequate opportunities for dealing with their issues, and that it ultimately will lead to new agreements that benefit foreign more than U.S. producers, at least in some commodity sectors. Neither bill was taken to the floor in 1997 because of insufficient votes for passage in the House. However, the President is expected to seek approval in 1998.
- Does Trade Reduce Wages of U.S. Workers?
- This report examines in some detail the hypothesis that trade is undermining the economic status of the American worker. Two questions are addressed: one, Has trade tended to reduce the average level of wages? and, two, Has trade increased the inequality of wages? The general conclusion reached is that poor wage performance is largely a problem of the domestic economy, that would have occurred with or without trade.
- Japan-U.S. Automobile and Parts Trade Dispute
- On May 9, 1995, the United States initiated action designed to resolve a dispute with Japan dealing with automobiles and auto parts. In an effort to move negotiations along and resolve a U.S. unfair trade practices case (Section 301) dealing with barriers in the aftermarket for auto parts in Japan, the United States has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on imports of thirteen Japanese luxury passenger cars (Honda Acura, Nissan Infiniti, Toyota Lexus, Mazda 929 and Millenia, and Mitsubishi Diamante). The decision will be made by June 28, 1995. The United States also is pursuing a broad unfair trading case dealing with access to Japan's automotive market at the World Trade Organization. Japan, meanwhile, has also initiated a case at the WTO challenging the legality of the threatened increase in U.S. tariffs. Consultations under the WTO on these issues began in Geneva on June 12, 1995.
- Maquiladoras and NAFTA: The Economics of U.S.-Mexico Production Sharing and Trade
- Debate continues over the benefits of U.S. trade with Mexico, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and particularly maquiladoras, or cross-border production sharing plants. Maquiladoras generate a large portion of U.S.-Mexico trade, yet the economic effects are not widely understood. Many believe there is no benefit to such trade because it leads to the loss of U.S. jobs, production, and wages. Maquiladora products, however, have a high U.S. content that in addition to fostering productivity gains in both countries, may actually minimize the loss of U.S. jobs by allowing the higher paying jobs to stay at home rather than be shipped entirely abroad, for example, to Asia. Still, adjustment to globalized production creates challenges, particularly in addressing the plight of low-skilled workers who become unemployed. Research, however, continues to point to domestic rather than trade policy for the likely solutions, particularly the emphasis on education and training programs.
- The 1995 Japan-U.S. Auto and Parts Trade Dispute: Terms of the Settlement and Implications
- On June 28, 1995, the United States and Japan reached a settlement in a long-running dispute over access to Japan's market for automobiles and parts. 100-percent tariffs by the United States on imports of luxury cars from Japan had been threatened under a Section 301 unfair trade practices case dealing with the aftermarket for autoparts in Japan. This report describes the dispute, the settlement, and questions and issues that still remain.
- Country Applicability of the U.S. Most-Favored-Nation Status
- The United States accords permanent most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment to all its trading partners except six countries to which it is denied by law and 14 countries whose MFN status is temporary and subject to the conditions of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974.
- Government Procurement and U.S. Trade Policy
- Governments are the largest single group of buyers of nondefense goods and services and represent a market valued at hundreds of billions of dollars for suppliers.[1] In 1994, the U.S. Federal Government spent approximately $155 billion on nondefense goods and services.
- Country Applicability of the U.S. Most-Favored-Nation Status
- The United States accords permanent most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment to all its trading partners except six countries to which it is denied by law and 14 countries whose MFN status is temporary and subject to the conditions of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974.
- Africa: Trade and Development Initiatives by the Clinton Administration and Congress
- This report summarizes legislation in Congress that President Clinton suggested concerning trade in Africa. Specifically, President Clinton called on Congress during his State of the Union address to pass the legislation.
- Africa: Trade and Development Initiatives by the Clinton Administration and Congress
- In February 1997, the Clinton Administration submitted the second of five annual reports on the Administration's Comprehensive Trade and Development Policy for Africa as required by section 134 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (House Document 103-3415, Vol. 1.). On April 24, 1997, members of the African Trade and Investment Caucus introduced a bill, H.R. 1432, on U.S.-Africa trade and investment issues. In his State of the Union address in January 1998, President Clinton called on Congress to pass the trade legislation.
- Mercosur: Formation, Status, Trade Effects, Policy Challenges, and U.S. Interests
- This report examines Mercosur, the third largest preferential trading group in the world. Since its inception in 1991, Mercosur has made considerable progress in integrating the economies of its members. The integration --- an almost complete free trade area and a partial customs union --- has been accompanied by a significant increase in U.S. exports and investment to the region. In the future, Mercosur face challenges affecting the size of its membership, the depth of its integration, and the strength of its institutions.
- Competitiveness: Economic Issue or Illusion?
- While "competitiveness" has a clear meaning when applied to a baseball team, or a firm or industry, it is of limited usefulness when applied to a country's overall economic performance. Moreover, focussing on competitiveness can lead to questionable economic policies.