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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released the Trump administration&rsquo;s <a href="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Reports/2018/AR/2018%20Annual%20Report%20FINAL.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report</a> detailing how the administration &ldquo;is promoting free, fair, and reciprocal trade and strongly enforcing U.S. trade laws.&rdquo; USTR Robert Lighthizer, in releasing the report, stated that, &ldquo;President Trump has launched a new era in American trade policy. His agenda is driven by a pragmatic determination to use the leverage available to the world&rsquo;s largest economy to obtain fairer treatment for American workers.&rdquo;
The policy rests on these five major pillars:
<ul>
<li>Adopting Trade Policies that Support Our National Security</li>
<li>Strengthening the U.S. Economy</li>
<li>Negotiating Better Trade Deals</li>
<li>Aggressively Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws and U.S. Rights under Existing Agreements</li>
<li>Reforming the Multilateral Trading System</li>
</ul>
The report adheres closely to past statements and well-known positions of President Trump&rsquo;s trade team. According to Lighthizer, &ldquo;President Trump is keeping his promises to the American people on trade, from withdrawing the United States from the flawed Trans-Pacific Partnership, to renegotiating NAFTA, to strongly enforcing U.S. trade laws. We are already seeing the results of President Trump&rsquo;s agenda pay off for American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.&rdquo;
Of note in this voluminous report are these planned policy actions and activities:
<ul>
<li>Trade Agreements &ndash; The United States will continue to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and amend the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. The Trump administration will prepare for a potential bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom once the UK leaves the European Union. It will also pursue other bilateral agreements in the Indo-Pacific and African regions. The administration&rsquo;s primary goals in NAFTA negotiations are to modernize provisions and to rebalance NAFTA for fair, reciprocal trade. The goals for KORUS are also to establish a more balanced trade relationship and to eliminate non-tariff barriers to exports of U.S.-made motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts.</li>
<li>Enforcing/Defending U.S. Trade Laws &ndash; The report states that the Trump administration will continue to &ldquo;use all tools available&rdquo; to combat unfair trade, and that there are &ldquo;no successful trade agreements without enforcement.&rdquo; The report highlights, but provides little new information or insight into, many of the trade actions undertaken in 2017 (i.e., trade actions under Sections 201, 232 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974) and ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.</li>
<li>China &ndash; Several sections of the report discuss China and state that the scope of its economy means that &ldquo;its economic practices increasingly affect the United States and the overall global economic and trade system.&rdquo; It notes, however, that despite China&rsquo;s WTO membership, the country is &ldquo;moving further away from market principles&rdquo; and as a result the United States &ldquo;will resist efforts by China &ndash; or any other country &ndash; to hide behind international bureaucracies in an effort to hinder the ability of the United States to take robust actions, when necessary, in response to unfair trade practices abroad.&rdquo;</li>
<li>World Trade Organization &ndash; The administration will work with all WTO members &ldquo;who share the U.S. goal of using the organization to create rules that will lead to more efficient markets, more trade and greater wealth for our citizens.&rdquo; However, the report notes that the United States is &ldquo;concerned that the WTO is not operating as the contracting parties envisioned and, as a result, is undermining America&rsquo;s ability to act in its national interest.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
A fact sheet on the report can be viewed <a href="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/factsheets/USTR%20-%20POTUS%20Trade%20Agenda%20-%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Congress requires the USTR to submit the President&rsquo;s Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report by March 1 each year.

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SmarTrade

President Trump Releases 2018 Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report