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Agriculture in the WTO: Limits on Domestic Support

Description: Most provisions of the current “farm bill,” the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), do not expire until 2007. However, hearings on a 2007 farm bill could begin in late 2005. At that time, Congress will begin to examine farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2007. A key question likely to be asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the WTO’s Agreement on Agricu… more
Date: May 10, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Arms Control and Nonproliferation Activities: A Catalog of Recent Events

Description: This report contains brief descriptions of the most prominent arms control and nonproliferation efforts in which the United States has participated during recent years. The entries describe the substance of each arms control effort, the period in which the effort occurred, and the status of the effort at the end of 2004.
Date: January 7, 2005
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Background on the U.S.-Brazil WTO Cotton Subsidy Dispute

Description: In late 2002, Brazil initiated a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement case (DS267) against specific provisions of the U.S. cotton program. This report provides background to the dispute, as well as details of the WTO dispute settlement case. It will not be updated. For information on the U.S. response to panel recommendations and their implications for the U.S. cotton sector, see CRS Report RS22187, U.S. Agricultural Policy Response to WTO Cotton Decision.
Date: July 11, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Balkan Cooperation on War Crimes Issues

Description: This report provides background regarding the cooperation of Balkan countries regarding the arrest and transfer of indicted war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Full cooperation with ICTY has been established as a key prerequisite to further progress toward a shared long-term goal for the western Balkan countries: closer association with and eventual membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO.
Date: April 26, 2005
Creator: Squassoni, Sharon
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Balkan Cooperation on War Crimes Issues: 2005 Update

Description: A combination of intensified international pressure and deadlines associated with Euro-Atlantic integration processes has prompted a spate of transfers of persons indicted for war crimes to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague in late 2004-early 2005. Full cooperation with The Hague tribunal has been established as a key prerequisite to further progress toward a shared long-term goal for the western Balkan countries: closer association with and event… more
Date: March 28, 2005
Creator: Kim, Julie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Balkan Cooperation on War Crimes Issues: 2005 Update

Description: A combination of intensified international pressure and deadlines associated with Euro-Atlantic integration processes has prompted a spate of transfers of persons indicted for war crimes to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague in late 2004-early 2005. Full cooperation with The Hague tribunal has been established as a key prerequisite to further progress toward a shared long-term goal for the western Balkan countries: closer association with and event… more
Date: June 9, 2005
Creator: Kim, Julie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Berne Union: An Overview

Description: The Berne Union, or the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers, is an international organization comprised of 54 public and private sector members that represent various segments of the export credit and investment insurance industry. Within the Berne Union, the United States is represented by the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and four private-sector firms and by one observer. Congress, through its oversight of Eximbank … more
Date: November 8, 2005
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: Possible New Directions and Policy Options

Description: There is consensus that Border and Transportation Security (BTS) is a pivotal function in protecting the American people from terrorists and their instruments of destruction. The issue for Congress is how to achieve desired levels of security, while not compromising other important values in the process. This report addresses possible new approaches and policy options that might be explored by Congress to attain these goals. It is one of three CRS reports in a series that make use of analytical… more
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Robinson, William H.; Lake, Jennifer E. & Seghetti, Lisa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: Selected Programs and Policies

Description: Border and Transportation Security (BTS) is a pivotal function in protecting the American people from terrorists and their instruments of destruction. This report addresses selected programs and policies now in place that seek to attain higher levels of BTS. It is the second in a three-part series of CRS reports that make use of analytical frameworks to better understand complex phenomena and cast them in terms that facilitate consideration of alternative policies and practices.
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M.; Lake, Jennifer E. & Robinson, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: The Complexity of the Challenge

Description: This report uses a series of graphical presentations to form one possible framework that might assist policy makers in understanding the complex nature of border and transportation security. It is the first in a three-part series of CRS reports that make use of analytical frameworks to better understand complex problems in border and transportation security and cast them in terms that facilitate the consideration of alternative policies and practices.
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Lake, Jennifer E.; Robinson, William H. & Seghetti, Lisa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security and the Southwest Border: Background, Legislation, and Issues

Description: As the number of illegal aliens that are present in the United States continues to grow, attention is directed at the border patrol and the enforcement of immigration laws within the interior of the country. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) units have launched several initiatives aimed at apprehending illegal aliens and dismantling human and drug smuggling organizations. Despite these efforts, the flo… more
Date: September 28, 2005
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M.; Lake, Jennifer E.; Nuñez-Neto, Blas; Siskin, Alison; Storrs, K. Larry; Brooks, Nathan et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Apprehensions of “Other Than Mexican”Aliens

Description: As the United States Border Patrol (USBP) discharges its mission it encounters unauthorized aliens from around the world attempting to illegally enter the United States. In fiscal year (FY) 2004, USBP agents apprehended 1.16 million people attempting to enter the country illegally between official POE; 93% of these aliens were Mexican nationals. Because the vast majority of people apprehended each year by the USBP are Mexican nationals, the agency categorizes aliens as Mexicans or Other Than Me… more
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas; Siskin, Alison & Viña, Stephen R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border

Description: This report outlines the issues involved with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) completion of a three-tiered, 14-mile fence, along the border near San Diego, California. The state of California has delayed completion of the fence due primarily to legal and policy conflicts with its federally-approved, state-run Coastal Management Program. Current authorization for the fence only allows the waiver of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. During the 108… more
Date: January 13, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas & Viña, Stephen R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border

Description: This report outlines the issues involved with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) completion of a three-tiered, 14-mile fence, along the border near San Diego, California. The state of California delayed completion of the fence due primarily to legal and policy conflicts with its federally-approved, state-run Coastal Management Program. Former authorization for the fence only allowed the waiver of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. During the 109th C… more
Date: November 28, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas & Viña, Stephen R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Immigration Issues in the 108th Congress

Description: This report provides background information on the main immigration-related border security issues that have been raised as a result of the terrorist attacks and resulting concern for homeland security. It describes enacted legislation in the 107th Congress as well as in previous Congresses that focus on immigration-related border security issues. The report also poses possible immigration-related border security issues the 108th Congress may consider.
Date: March 22, 2005
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Key Agencies and Their Missions

Description: This report serves as a primer on the key federal agencies charged with border security by briefly describing each agency's role in securing our nation's borders. The four main agencies are the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Date: August 4, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Key Agencies and Their Missions

Description: After the massive reorganization of federal agencies precipitated by the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are now four main federal agencies charged with securing the United States’ borders: the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which patrols the border and conducts immigrations, customs, and agricultural inspections at ports of entry; the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which investigates immigrations and customs violations in the … more
Date: May 9, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol

Description: This report includes some issues for Congress to consider which could include the slow rate of integration between the USBP’s biometric database of illegal aliens and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) biometric database of criminals and terrorists; the number of unauthorized aliens who die attempting to enter the country each year; the organized human smuggling rings that have proliferated as entering the country has become more difficult; and the threat posed by terrorists along the … more
Date: May 10, 2005
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Caribbean Basin Interim Trade Program: CBI/NAFTA Parity

Description: To provide an idea of the nature and scope of changes in trade competitiveness between the CBERA countries and Mexico that have resulted from the implementation of the NAFTA, this report describes the relevant preferential or special tariff treatments, as applicable. The aspects of trade policy that apply generally to all (or most) U.S. trading partners (e.g., most-favored-nation/normal-trade-relations status, or production-sharing provisions) are not included in any detail.
Date: January 12, 2005
Creator: Pregelj, Vladimir N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States

Description: This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. All of the signatory countries except Costa Rica have approved the pact. The agreement will enter into force for the approving countries on an agreed date, tentati… more
Date: October 24, 2005
Creator: Storrs, K. Larry; Ribando, Clare; Sek, Lenore; Sullivan, Mark P.; Taft-Morales, Maureen & Veillette, Connie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States

Description: This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required implementing legislation (H.R. 3045) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed it into la… more
Date: August 4, 2005
Creator: Storrs, K. Larry; Ribando, Clare; Sek, Lenore; Sullivan, Mark P.; Taft-Morales, Maureen & Veillette, Connie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China: Economic Sanctions

Description: This report discusses a list of economic sanctions that the United States currently maintains against China. The influence of Congress on U.S. policy toward China, once significant because so much hung on the annual possibility that favorable trade terms could be suspended, has more recently been diffused. Sanctions that remain in place today can all be modified, eased, or lifted altogether by the President, without congressional input.
Date: May 18, 2005
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Pros and Cons

Description: The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) would ban all nuclear explosions. President Clinton signed it in 1996 and transmitted it to the Senate in 1997. The Senate rejected it in 1999. To enter into force, 44 named nations, including the United States, must ratify the treaty. The Bush Administration opposes ratification but has maintained a moratorium on nuclear testing begun in 1992. This report presents pros and cons of key arguments: the treaty’s implications for nuclear nonproliferation, fo… more
Date: June 28, 2005
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuba and the State Sponsors of Terrorism List

Description: Cuba was first added to the State Department's list of states sponsoring international terrorism in 1982. At the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba's ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America. Cuba remains on the state-sponsored terrorism list with four other countries: Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea. Cuba's retention on the terrorism list has received more attention in recent years … more
Date: May 12, 2005
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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