The White House has released the president's annual trade policy document that many had hoped would provide a more concrete idea than has heretofore been offered of where the administration is headed and how it proposes to get there. The newest document does not provide those specifics.
Business groups and exporters have been eager for the Obama administration to seek approval of the three yet-to-be-approved free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. But labor trade unions and a number of Democrats in Congress complain that those pending FTAs will do little to better the prospects of workers in the three countries or to require their governments to tackle environmental problems that often accompany increased production and trade.
Last month, in an address to a business roundtable in Washington , President Obama sought to find balance between those seeking greater access to foreign market s and those who worry that increased trade will result in lost US jobs. "I know that trade policy has been one of those longstanding divides between business and labor, between Democrats and Republicans. To those who would reflexively support every and any trade deal, I would say that our competitors have to play fair and our agreements have to be enforced. We can't simply cede more jobs or markets to unfair trade practices."
"At the same time, to those who would reflexively oppose every trade agreement, they need to know that if America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores."
Addressing a potential new trade agreement, the USTR document did offer some optimism regarding a proposal for the US to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership of nations that includes Brunei , Chile , New Zealand and Singapore . USTR points out that the federal government currently is in consultations with all 50 states and key congressional committees, and officials promised to consider concerns from small businesses and labor and environmental advocates as it drafts goals for upcoming negotiations.
"This effort will also demonstrate that a properly designed process of expanded consultation with stakeholders and Congress does not have to slow down trade negotiations, but can in fact energize talks," the document said. Since that effort is still in its earliest stages, it is difficult to predict where it will be headed or how long it will take to complete.
Turing to the seemingly interminable WTO talks, the administration says it "strongly supports" an ambitious and balanced Doha Round agreement but added that in its view, the administration believes that a weak Doha agreement would weaken the WTO.
"A sound Doha agreement … could boost the world economy, support many good jobs, assist poorer countries, and reinforce confidence in a rules-based trading system," the report said. "In short, it would be good for the world and for the US . But a weak agreement would not serve these interests and ultimately would weaken the WTO."
The report also obliquely addresses the president's new National Export Initiative, a program that has the goal of doubling US exports in five years to support 2 million jobs. "Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside the US, and the president's trade agenda will help to get American workers and businesses access to as many of those customers as possible — in ways that affirm our rights in the global trading system and that reflect American values on worker rights, the environment, and open dialogue here at home," USTR Ron Kirk said in a press statement.
The annual report also hit on an often-repeated Obama trade theme: enforcement. USTR said it will strengthen further trade monitoring and enforcement in 2010 and file cases at the WTO as necessary. The report also characterized the WTO's dispute settlement system as a vital avenue for countries to resolve difficult disagreements while maintaining solid working relationships.
The administration also said it plans to keep a closer watch on the labor practices in other countries with which the US has signed a free trade agreement. The administration also plans to seek regular, high-level dialogue with key trade partners, including China, India, Mexico, Canada, and the EU, "to elevate the discussion on the interplay between respect for labor rights and enhanced trade."
The document pledges to work within NAFTA to harmonize more of the regulations that continue to impede trade among the three signatory countries, the US, Canada and Mexico. As the report points out, the three NAFTA nations agreed to focus in 2010 on cooperating to reduce unnecessary regulatory differences on matters such as standards and technical regulations.
The report can be accessed at this Web site.
