WTO Issues Report on U.S. Trade Policy
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has issued its Trade Policy Review of the United States. This is the WTO's first review of U.S. trade policy since 2004. The report says that the "U.S. has undergone solid economic growth since . . . 2004, aided by the openness and transparency of its trade regime which has supported the continuous drive for change and efficiency characteristic of the US economy as a whole, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of the United States."
The report states that the U.S. "continued making incremental changes to its trade regime, including liberalization on an MFN and preferential bases. The report notes, nonetheless, that market access barriers and other distorting measures, notably subsidies, persist in a few but important areas, and that addressing these distortions would benefit U.S. consumers and taxpayers and help strengthen the global economy." The report also says that it is important to preempt possible protectionist sentiment.
The U.S. Trade Representative's statement on the report can be found here.