Congressional Research Services, Library of Congress. April 15, 2013.
The health of the U.S. manufacturing sector has been a long-standing concern of Congress. Although Congress has established a wide variety of tax preferences, direct subsidies, import restraints, and other federal programs with the goal of retaining or recapturing manufacturing jobs, only a small proportion of U.S. workers is now employed in factories. Meanwhile, U.S. factories have stepped up production of goods that require high technological sophistication but relatively little direct labor. Labor productivity in manufacturing, as measured by government data, has grown rapidly, suggesting that the manufacturing sector as a whole remains healthy. In the context of national security, the fact that U.S. manufacturers of vital products are critically dependent upon inputs from abroad is frequently a subject of concern. International comparisons indicate that the United States is in no way unique in its dependence on foreign inputs to manufacturing. Although the output of U.S. factories contains a large proportion of foreign value added, many other countries appear to be even more dependent upon foreign value added than is the United States, at least with respect to goods traded in international markets.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41712.pdf [PDF format, 17 pages].
Congressional Research Services, Library of Congress. April 15, 2013.
U.S. trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization agreements, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have been approved by majority vote of each house rather than by two-thirds vote of the Senate–that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than as treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing Congress’s long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United States through reciprocal trade negotiations. In a succession of statutes, Congress has authorized the President to negotiate and enter into tariff and nontariff barrier (NTB) agreements for limited periods, while permitting NTB and free trade agreements negotiated under this authority to enter into force for the United States only if they are approved by both houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions are met; implementing bills are also accorded expedited consideration under the scheme. This negotiating authority and expedited procedures are commonly known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-896.pdf [PDF format, 10 pages].
Center for Global Development. March 28, 2013.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are regional trade deals that could have adverse trade and growth effects on excluded poor countries. US trade policy already discriminates against exports from poor Asian countries; the TPP would make things worse, for example, by giving preference to Vietnam’s exports over Cambodia’s. Regional agreements can also undermine the World Trade Organization and the global system that protects smaller, weaker developing countries. The United States can help ensure that poor countries are not left behind. This brief suggests three policy changes that Congress and President Obama should embrace. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/restoring-us-leadership-trade-and-development_0.pdf [PDF format, 4 pages].
Congressional Research Service. January 31, 2013.
This report provides an overview of the federal government agencies that participate in U.S. export promotion efforts and the issues that they raise for Congress. The recent global economic downturn has renewed congressional debate over the role of the federal government in promoting exports. This debate has been heightened with the Obama Administration’s efforts to double U.S. exports under the National Export Initiative (NEI) and policy debates about possible reorganization of federal trade-related agencies. Federal government agencies perform a wide variety of functions that contribute to export promotion, including providing information, counseling, and export assistance services; funding feasibility studies; financing and insuring U.S. trade; conducting government-to-government advocacy; and negotiating new trade agreements and enforcing existing ones.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41495.pdf [PDF format, 28 pages].
The Brookings Institution. December 2012.
The next four years are crucial for Sino-U.S. relations. China will be led by a new leadership that is more self-confident and more attentive to its public opinion. The further narrowing of the power gap between China and the United States will generate more anxiety in Washington. The competition between two countries in the Asia-Pacific may pick up momentum. At the same time, the world’s two largest economies will be required to cooperate and coordinate to promote global governance and address regional and global challenges. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/11-china-obama-wu [HTML format].
