The President’s 2017 trade agenda declared strict enforcement of U.S. trade laws as a major priority, citing Sections 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The past several months have seen action under both laws. This post examines the Trump
On June 26, 2017, the European Commission released its 7th annual Report on Trade and Investment Barriers for 2016. It identified 372 trade barriers in over 50 countries, a 10% increase over 2015. The Report highlights 36 new barriers and the resolution of
The WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) appears poised for expansion in 2017 – for the third straight year. According to the WTO Secretariat’s report of the June meeting of the GPA committee, several accession negotiations are nearing
In the 2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) highlights significant barriers to U.S. exports. Government procurement policies, such as “buy national” policies and closed
During the U.S. presidential election campaign, Donald Trump threated to withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and perhaps even the World Trade Organization (WTO), and to impose
From 2001 to 2016, membership in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) nearly doubled, increasing from 27 to 47 WTO members. The plurilateral pact now covers almost 30% of the WTO membership. Three factors underlie its 20-member expansion over 16
This post highlights developments over the past several weeks relating to government procurement: Russia’s application to join the WTO procurement agreement; the solicitation of public comments on fulfillment of WTO commitments by Russia and China;
Recently, the Wilson Center highlighted the ongoing challenges of corruption in a collection of essays, Wilson Perspectives: Combatting Corruption. The series provides “snapshots” of how specific countries, in particular, Brazil, China, Russia and
Following the recent WTO Ministerial in Nairobi, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman observed that WTO members are free to consider new approaches to trade issues. They are no longer bound to the Doha Development Agenda, a 14-year effort that has yielded