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The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress, has released an overview report, <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Trade and Finance: Overview and Issues for the 116th Congress</a>, in which it offers a brief review of President Donald Trump&rsquo;s first two years in office and policy issues that the new 116th Congress may address. The policy issues include: the impact of trade and trade agreements on the U.S. economy; the causes and consequences of the U.S. trade deficit; the implications of technological developments for U.S. trade policy; and the intersection of economics and national security.
The report acknowledges that the president has focused his trade policy on &ldquo;reevaluating many U.S. international trade and economic policies and relationships.&rdquo; The report also notes that members of Congress &ldquo;exert significant influence over U.S. economic and trade policy and its implementation through their legislative, appropriations, and oversight roles&rdquo; and that &ldquo;[g]iven current debates, fundamental questions about the future direction of trade and international economic issues may be key areas of interest for the 116th Congress.&rdquo; Some of the trade issues discussed in the report are:
<ul>
<li>Tariff Actions Undertaken by the Trump Administration &ndash; summarizing imposed and/or increased tariffs under: (1) Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 on U.S. imports of washing machines and solar products; (2) Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, and potentially autos, auto parts and uranium; and (3) Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on U.S. imports from China; and retaliatory tariffs implemented by other countries.</li>
<li>U.S.-China Trade and Key Issues &ndash; summarizing China&rsquo;s economic rise and increasing U.S. tensions over various economic and trade issues &ldquo;stemming largely from China&rsquo;s incomplete transition to an open-market economy,&rdquo; including: (1) China&rsquo;s industrial policies and Made in China 2025 initiative; (2) China&rsquo;s policies on technology, innovation, and intellectual property and its economic espionage; and (3) China&rsquo;s Belt and Road Initiative.</li>
<li>U.S. Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements and Negotiations &ndash; summarizing a number of trade actions and negotiations the Trump administration has undertaken concerning free trade agreements, including: (1) the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA); (2) modifications to the U.S.-South Korea (KORUS) free trade agreement; (3) ongoing U.S.-European Union trade negotiations; (4) U.S.-Japan trade negotiations; and (5) the call for launching U.S.-United Kingdom free trade agreement negotiations.</li>
<li>The World Trade Organization &ndash; summarizing the state of affairs and growing challenges facing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and calls for reforms of its functions, including: (1) the lack of any modernization of its rules since 1995 despite numerous multilateral and plurilateral negotiations; (2) the entrenched differences in priorities among leading emerging market economies, developing countries and advanced economies; and (3) skepticism over the WTO&rsquo;s dispute settlement system.</li>
</ul>
In addition to these high-profile trade matters, the CRS report also provides details on more general trade issues such as intellectual property rights, labor and environmental conditions in trade agreements, and select U.S. import policies. It concludes with an overview of foreign direct investment in the United States and a review of international financial institutions and markets relied upon to discuss and coordinate economic policies.
International trade matters, at times, dominated the 2018 political landscape. Those of us at Trump and Trade expect 2019 to be no different. While the CRS report offers a broad overview of the policy debates that remain, we recommend a quick review of it. The report itself concludes that these issues &ldquo;provide the backdrop for a potential robust and complex debate in the 116th Congress over a range of trade and finance issues.&rdquo;

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SmarTrade

Congressional Research Service Releases Overview Report on International Trade and Finance Issues for 116th Congress