Congressional Research Service Reports - 828 Matching Results
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- Burma’s Political Prisoners and U.S. Sanctions
- This report discusses the current issues in Burma (Myanmar) in regards to political prisoners and the resulting U.S. sanctions against the nation. It includes an introduction and definitions; information about current estimates of prisoners and prisoner releases; the relation of political prisoners, parliamentary elections and national reconciliation; and U.S. sanctions and U.S. efforts regarding political prisoners, as well as relevant issues for Congress to consider.
- U.S. Trade and Investment in the Middle East and North Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress
- U.S. interest in deepening economic ties with certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has increased in light of the political unrest and transitions that have swept the region since early 2011. This report analyzes policy approaches that the Congress might consider concerning U.S.-MENA trade and investment.
- Dispute Settlement Under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement: An Overview
- No Description Available.
- U.S.-Russia Meat and Poultry Trade Issues
- In December 2008, the United States and Russia signed a protocol aimed at resolving various emerging trade issues between the two countries in order to continue U.S. livestock and poultry exports to Russia through the end of 2009. This report examines the current trade relationship between the U.S. and Russia in regards to meat and poultry.
- The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Automobile Rules of Origin
- This report begins with a discussion of the complex supply chains that now underlie automotive production. It then explains the procedures established in the KORUS FTA for determining whether an automotive product qualifies as being of South Korean or United States origin and compares those procedures to the rules established in the free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union. Finally, it discusses whether the domestic content rules in the KORUS FTA could enable circumvention of the rules of origin by allowing automotive components produced in North Korea’s Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) to enter the United States duty-free in assembled motor vehicles, and thereby receive the benefits provided by the agreement.
- The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Background and Issues
- This report discusses the proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) signed November 22, 2006, which has not yet been approved by Congress. It includes an overview of the proposed CFTA and U.S.-Colombia trade, background on Colombia, issues for Congress to consider, Colombia's plan to improve labor rights, and the actions that Colombia has already taken to improve violence, labor, and human rights within the country.
- Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements
- This report is categorized into six categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Arms Control Between the United States and States of the Former Soviet Union, (III) Multilateral Nuclear Nonproiferation Activities, (IV) Non-Nuclear Multilateral Endeavors, (V) Conventional Technology Controls and (VI) Weapons Control and Elimination Conventions.
- Trade Preferences for Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- This report discusses the trade preferences and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) most-favored-nation (MFN) requirements, World Trade Organization (WTO) waivers for preferential trade agreements, and WTO waivers for U.S. preference programs.
- Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy
- This report presents background and analysis on the development of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a summary of the major provisions under the expired authority, and a discussion of the issues that have arisen in the debate over Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) renewal. It also explores some of the policy options available to Congress.
- U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues
- This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA; H.R. 5724 and S. 2830): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians.
- United States-Canada Trade and Economic Relationship: Prospects and Challenges
- This report discusses trade and economic relationship between the United States and Canada, which conduct the world’s largest bilateral trade relationship.
- Proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Background and Issues
- This report discusses the proposed U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, also called the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CFTA),which is a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia which, if ratified, would eliminate tariffs and other barriers in goods and services between the two countries.
- U.S.-Taiwan Trade Relations
- This report discusses the U.S. - Taiwan relations. U.S. trade data indicate that in 2014, Taiwan was the United States’ 10th largest merchandise trading partner (at $67.4 billion), 14th largest export market ($26.8 billion), and 12th largest source of imports ($40.6 billion).
- Agriculture in the WTO: Limits on Domestic Support
- A potential major constraint affecting U.S. agricultural policy choices is the set of commitments made as part of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), with its various agreements governing agriculture and trade, including dispute settlement. This report provides a brief overview of the WTO commitments most relevant for U.S. domestic farm policy. A key question that policymakers ask of virtually every new farm proposal is, how will it affect U.S. commitments under the WTO?
- Stealing Trade Secrets and Economic Espionage: An Abridged Overview of 18 U.S.C. 1831 and 1832
- This report discuses the stealing a trade secret, which is a federal crime when the information relates to a product in interstate or foreign commerce, 18 U.S.C. 1832 (theft of trade secrets), or when the intended beneficiary is a foreign power, 18 U.S.C. 1831 (economic espionage).
- U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones: Background and Issues for Congress
- Members of Congress have demonstrated their interest in the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) system through hearings and legislation over the past seven decades. The program may enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, support employment opportunities, and impact U.S. tariff revenues. Balancing these potential gains, others argue that the program may also be trade distorting, and may play a role in misallocating resources in the economy as a whole. This report provides a general perspective on the U.S. FTZ system. It is divided into three parts. As background, the first section discusses free trade zones worldwide. The second section focuses on the U.S. FTZ program—its history, administrative mechanism, structure, growth and industry concentration, and benefits and costs. The third section focuses on current issues for Congress relating to the U.S. FTZ program.
- Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations
- This report provides an overview of U.S. - Egyptian relations, Egyptian politics, and U.S. foreign aid to Egypt.
- U.S. Catfish Industry and Foreign Trade: A Fact Sheet
- This report is a fact sheet on the U.S. catfish industry and foreign trade.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods and the WTO Trade Dispute on Meat Labeling
- This report discusses about the AB and Panel reports that were adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on July 23, 2012 starting a 30- day Deadline for the United States to Inform the DSB how it will implement the final findings.
- China-U.S. Trade Issues
- From Summary: This report provides an overview of U.S.-China relations. It describes the trends in commercial ties, identifies major trade issues, and lists major legislation in the 112th Congress.
- Brazil’s WTO Case Against the U.S. Cotton Program
- U.S. and Brazilian trade negotiators reached agreement on June 17, 2010, on a "Framework agreement" regarding a World Trade Organization dispute settlement case over U.S. cotton subsidies and GSM-102 agricultural export credit guarantees. The Framework agreement - which lays out a number of "steps and discussions" - represents a path forward toward the ultimate goal of reaching a negotiated solution to the dispute, while avoiding World Trade Organization-sanctioned trade retaliation by Brazil against U.S. goods and services. This report includes information on the dispute, panel recommendations, implementation of recommendations, compliance panel review and ruling, arbitration of Brazil's proposed countermeasures, and more related the dispute.
- Generalized System of Preferences: Background and Renewal Debate
- No Description Available.
- Brazil’s WTO Case Against the U.S. Cotton Program
- The so-called "Brazil cotton case" is a long-running World Trade Organization dispute settlement case initiated by Brazil - a major cotton export competitor - in 2002 against specific provisions of the U.S. cotton program. This report details the overview of the case, background on the U.S. cotton sector, Brazil's dispute settlement case against the U.S. cotton program, panel and appellate body recommendations, implementation of those recommendations, World Trade Organization compliance panel review and ruling, and more related to the case.
- Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues
- This report discusses the ethical and political issues surrounding contemporary biotechnology. Driving the discussion are inventions such as genetically engineered (GE) crops, which have increased from 3.6 million acres to 143 million acres in the United States. The report also raises concerns about regulations and the adequacy of environmental assessments.
- Proposed Import Restrictions on Milk Protein Concentrates (MPCs)
- Low farm milk prices and declining dairy sector income in 2009 have renewed congressional interest in imposing new import barriers on milk protein concentrates (MPCs), which generally include casein, the main protein found in milk, and caseinates, a soluble form of casein. This report examines proposed import restrictions and potential trade policy implications.
- Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations (CJS): Trade-Related Agencies
- This report tracks and describes actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2016 appropriations for the International Trade Administration(ITA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
- Geographical Indications in U.S.-EU Trade Negotiations
- This report covers Geographical indications (GIs) which are geographical names that act to protect the quality and reputation of a distinctive product originating in a certain region. The term is most often, although not exclusively, applied to wines, spirits, and agricultural products. In the United States, many food manufacturers view the use of such common or traditional names as generic terms, and view the EU's protection of its registered GIs as a way to monopolize the use of certain wine and food terms, and as a form of trade protectionism. The protection of GIs is provided for in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which was signed in April 1994.
- Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive
- This report provides a brief overview of the early history of the negotiations, a more detailed review of the negotiations since 2008, and a description of some of the issues involved in the talks.
- Agricultural Exports and 2014 Farm Bill Programs: Background and Issues
- This report provides background on the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) agricultural export programs and relevant issues for Congress. U.S. agricultural exports have long been a bright spot in the U.S. balance of trade, with exports exceeding imports in every year since 1960.
- Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview
- This report provides an overview about the Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
- This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.
- CRS Issue Statement on Agricultural Trade and Development
- This report discusses about the agricultural exports that are imported both U.S. farmers and to the U.S. economy. It further discusses about expanding market opportunities for U.S. farm products through bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations that has been a long-standing aim of U.S. trade policy.
- African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
- This report provides a summary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The report covers the key aspects, U.S. imports under the AGOA, and the debate on whether or not it should be renewed.
- Globalized Supply Chains and U.S. Policy
- No Description Available.
- Agriculture in the WTO: Rules and Limits on Domestic Support
- This report provides a brief overview of the World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments most relevant for U.S. domestic farm policy. The report discusses a key question that policy makers ask of virtually every new farm proposal is, how will it affect U.S. commitments under the WTO? The answer depends not only on cost, but also on the proposal's design and objectives, as described below.
- U.S. Sugar Program Fundamentals
- From Summary: This report outlines four different tools the United States Department of Agriculture uses to keep domestic market prices above guaranteed levels.
- Trade Preferences for Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- This report discusses the trade preferences and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) most-favored-nation (MFN) requirements, World Trade Organization (WTO) waivers for preferential trade agreements, and WTO waivers for U.S. preference programs.
- China-U.S. Trade Issues
- This report mainly focuses on China-U.S. Trade Issues. China-U.S. ties have been substantially expanded over the past three decades. U.S imports from China have risen much more rapidly than U.S exports to China.
- The European Union and China
- On June 29, 2015 the European Union and the People's Republic of China held their 17th annual leader's summit in Brussels. The summit also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of formal relations between what is now the EU and China. This report contains information on the background, political dimension, economic dimension, and more related to this summit.
- The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and Its Implications for the United States
- No Description Available.
- Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview
- No Description Available.
- The Federal Trade Commission’s Regulation of Environmental Marketing Claims and Related Legal Issues
- This report examines the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) role in regulating environmental marketing claims under the FTC Act and other federal laws. It begins with an overview of the FTC's enforcement powers under the FTC Act, including their potential extraterritorial application to unfair or deceptive claims made by foreign entities outside of the United States' territorial jurisdiction. It then examines how the FTC has exercised its powers under the act and other laws in the environmental marketing context. The report concludes by considering legal issues potentially implicated by regulating environmental marketing claims, including questions involving the First Amendment, international trade law, and federal preemption of state law.
- Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy
- This report discusses about Free Trade Areas that are arrangements among two or more countries under which they agree to eliminate tariffs and non tariff barriers on trade in goods among themselves.
- Agricultural Export Programs: Background and Issues
- This report considers U.S. agricultural imports and predicts that FY2010 will be the second highest on record at 77.5 billion. The report also discusses the farm bill of 2008 in relation to this information. Moreover, the report provides data on the U.S. agricultural exports.
- China-U.S. Trade Issues
- This report discusses China's incomplete transition to a free market economy and its use of distortive economic policies that have contributed to growing trade friction with the United States over a number of issues.
- Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview
- No Description Available.
- The World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and Recent Food Labeling Cases
- This report briefly describes the regulatory programs at issue in the two World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute before analyzing how the WTO's Appellate Body applied Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement in U.S. -COOL and U.S. -Tuna II. The report takes an in-depth look at the test established by the Appellate Body for determining whether a measure is impermissibly discriminatory. Finally, the report provides a brief description of how the United States amended these programs in response to the WTO decisions, and explains why subsequent WTO rulings found that the amended programs still failed to comply with international trade obligations.
- Trade Preferences for Developing Countries and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- This report discusses the trade preferences and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) most-favored-nation (MFN) requirements, World Trade Organization (WTO) waivers for preferential trade agreements, and WTO waivers for U.S. preference programs.
- China-U.S. Trade Issues
- This report is on China-U.S. Trade Issues.
- Generalized System of Preferences: Background and Renewal Debate
- No Description Available.