International Business Quarterly: The US Trade Agenda--Ambitious, But Problematic

Volume II, Issue 2, April 2013

The Obama administration’s recent actions have caused trade policy observers to be simultaneously enthusiastic and skeptical. Who can blame them? In the President’s first term, the trade agenda could be fairly described as minimalist. President Obama oversaw a trade policy focused on enforcement (exemplified by 13 WTO disputes) with an occasional dose of domestic protection (such as the Section 421 tariffs on Chinese tires).Three FTAs concluded in 2007 remained pending until after the 2010 elections, when newly-empowered Republicans forced the issue and helped deliver a bipartisan achievement.

 
Well, forget minimalism. Less than three months into the second term, the agenda is suddenly and improbably ambitious. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gained increased commercial relevance with the news of Japan’s intent to join the negotiations. The February 21st State of the Union address included the President’s pledge to launch the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the annual Trade Policy Agenda report released March stated that the Administration intends to seek Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) from Congress this year, which would allow for expedited consideration of completed agreements.
 
For fans of economic freedom, the new agenda holds exciting promise. But substantively, it amounts to the most complex and potentially problematic agenda in the past 20 years, since the near-simultaneous conclusion of both NAFTA and the GATT Uruguay Round.
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Scott Miller
Senior Mentor (Non-resident), Executive Education

Clare Richardson-Barlow