TTIP Negotiations, UK FTA Talks Could Be Major Trade Issues for Next Congress, CRS Says
The status of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement negotiations, responses to overseas currency manipulation, and the launch of new bilateral trade negotiations, “such as with the United Kingdom,” could be among the most prominent trade issues to be considered by the 115th Congress, according to a Congressional Research Service report (here). The new session begins Jan. 3. Trade policy in Asia also figures to be a major issue for the upcoming Congress after President-elect Donald Trump in November announced he intends to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership immediately after taking office Jan. 20, said the CRS report on trade issues for the new Congress. "In the near term, concerns over a slowdown in global trade and the role the United States may play in supporting global growth as a major importer may overshadow potential concerns over global imbalances."
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Congress will also likely focus attention on proposals to renegotiate or withdraw from free trade agreements, including NAFTA, as Trump has proposed (see 1606290048). The report notes that the recent U.S. presidential election attracted much attention surrounding the question of whether the U.S. will continue to take as open an approach toward free trade as it currently does. “Intra-firm trade” of the total amount of U.S. trade -- including exports and imports sent to U.S. foreign affiliates and overseas production facilities as well as foreign firms operating in the U.S. -- accounted for 28 percent of U.S. exports and 34 percent of U.S. imports, in an analysis of 2015 statistics. This situation will complicate trade and employment policy debates, raise questions about what constitutes an “American-made” product, “who gains and who loses from trade,” and how innovation and production could continue to change the economy, CRS said.