In the opening chapter of the 2010 Trade Policy Agenda and 2009 Annual Report, President Obama unveiled a trade agenda that aims to double U.S. exports within five years and create jobs.[1] Prominent on Obama’s trade to-do list is the implementation of the National Export Initiative (NEI),…

On March 1, Brazil will announce a list of retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods—a response to the American government’s unwillingness to eliminate subsidies to domestic cotton producers. The World Trade Organization (WTO), in 2004 and again in 2005, deemed facets of America’s cotton program inconsistent with multilateral trade…

In recent days, both Vietnam and the European Union have joined the ranks of countries either filing complaints or seeking sanctions against the United States within the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to America’s practice of “zeroing” in anti-dumping investigations.[1] “Zeroing” artificially inflates dumping…

On February 4, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke fleshed out the details of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), a plan unveiled in the 2010 State of the Union address that promises to double U.S. exports over the next five years and support 2 million American jobs.[1]…

Unless Congress acts now, two important trade programs -- the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) -- will expire at the end of 2009. Because these trade programs make essential contributions to the economies of the countries that they favor while benefiting American businesses…

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) Seventh Ministerial Conference held earlier this month did little to spur progress on a global trade pact. While the ministerial was not billed as a negotiating round, and the struggling Doha Development Round was only one of several topics on the agenda, there…

One positive outcome of President Obama's recent trip to Asia is a U.S. commitment to reengage in long-postponed negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Economic Strategic Partnership (TPP).[1] Brunei, Chile, Singapore, and New Zealand -- the current members of the trade pact -- designed the TPP…

On June 24, 106 Members of Congress introduced the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act (H.R. 3012) as the vehicle for reshaping U.S. trade policy. Mandating additional reviews of current and potential trade agreements and adding a multitude of new exceptions, regulatory barriers, and other requirements, the act, if implemented, will effectively bring to…