USTR trade policy priorities include advancing FTAs, improved enforcement
May 4, 2009
World Trade\Interactive
In what was billed as his first major policy address since taking office, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk recently laid out his trade policy priorities for the coming year. Kirk’s comments were consistent with the direction the Obama administration has charted on trade thus far, but some aspects are already being challenged by members of Congress.
Kirk began by highlighting the need for a change in U.S. trade policy, which he said “had its problems” even before the current global economic crisis. “To many Americans, U.S. trade policy has lacked rhyme or reason,” he said. “People wondered whether we were getting enough out of the agreements that were negotiated. Many people have felt that enforcement was being neglected, and that our trading partners have been running roughshod over us, pulling good jobs overseas. They’ve been concerned that lower labor and environmental standards have allowed other countries to undercut U.S. producers. The benefits of trade, and the reasons for pursuing a strong trade agenda, have not always been as evident as some of trade’s negative effects.”
Kirk emphasized that while there is thus a temptation to “turn inward” and “just stop trading,” the proper response is to engage in an “aggressive effort to keep trade flowing and open more markets” to U.S. goods and services. “A strong case can be made for trade as a creator not just of jobs, but of the better-paying jobs that Americans want and need today,” he said. To better make this case, the Obama administration will “rethink trade” and take “a new approach” that will include retaining “what has worked in the 60 years since GATT was signed in 1947” and updating “what needs updating for the global, interconnected world we live in today.” Specific initiatives will include the following.
FTAs. Kirk made clear that the Obama administration will work to implement pending free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and Korea by “looking for new solutions to the issues that have dragged on” with respect to those agreements. However, this position is starting to come under fire from some congressional Democrats. For example, Kirk said he believes there is “strong bipartisan support” for the Panama FTA, but Democrats in both the House and Senate have been critical of it. “The president needs to understand there is strong opposition to more-of-the-same trade deals,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. “The big problem many of us have is to take a Bush-negotiated trade agreement and vote on it,” added Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, who co-chairs the House Trade Working Group, according to CongressDaily. “That’s not the change I voted for; that’s not the change that a lot of people all across the country voted for; that’s not the change that the president was committed to when he was running for president.”
Kirk also indicated that the Obama administration intends to pursue FTAs of its own at some point but that its strategy for doing so will be different than that of the Bush administration. “When it’s time to strike new trade deals, we’ll seek bigger ones that access major markets for American workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers” and “reflect our values on the rights of workers and protection of the environment, in ways that also level the playing field for workers here at home,” Kirk said.
Enforcement. USTR will determine which of the trade barriers identified in its National Trade Estimate report are costing the U.S. the most jobs and opportunities and will then use “all the tools in USTR’s toolbox,” including direct dialogue and formal consultations as well as litigation when necessary, to eliminate them.
Doha Round. The U.S. will continue to seek a Doha Round agreement that provides meaningful new trade flows for U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and service providers by obtaining “a clearer picture of what we get as well as what we’re expected to give.” Kirk pledged more details on the administration’s strategy for this agreement in the coming weeks. He also reiterated calls for advanced developing countries to “compromise and make hard choices about opening their markets.”
Developing Countries. USTR is “working to open new markets for American goods and services – and to promote economic development – by bringing developing countries to the table.” The U.S. will also promote policies to help least-developed countries “succeed at trade” through preferences, technical assistance and trade capacity building.
Small Businesses. USTR will seek to better reflect the interests of the 97% of U.S. exporters that have fewer than 500 employees “at the negotiating table, in the enforcement process, and in those instances when competition forces a worker to transition from one job to another.”
Transparency. USTR is working to open up the process of developing and implementing trade policy by “doing thorough reviews and making sure Congress and the public have access to better information about our trade efforts,” including by rolling out an updated Web site.
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