USTR Issues 2008 Trade Policy Agenda and 2007 Annual Report on Trade Agreements Program
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a press release announcing that on March 3, 2008, the Bush Administration submitted to Congress the 2008 Trade Policy Agenda and the 2007 Annual Report on the Trade Agreements Program.
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The President's Trade Policy Agenda for 2008
The USTR's overview of the President's 2008 Trade Policy Agenda includes, among other things (partial list):
FTAs. The Administration will build on the passage of the Peru Free Trade Agreement by working with Congress to advance other pending FTAs with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
Doha. The U.S. continues to lead efforts towards concluding an ambitious Doha Development Round.
IPR. The Administration will continue to aggressively combat intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in order to protect both industry and consumers.
Trade relations. The Administration will continue its efforts to build and strengthen trade relations worldwide while ensuring that all parties involved abide by fair and evenly applied rules. (In particular, the Administration will pursue Asia-Pacific regional economic integration through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.)
2007 Annual Report on the Trade Agreements Program
The USTR's highlights of 2007 include, among other things, the Administration's continued fight against IPR violations through launching negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement with other trading partners and filed cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China's deficiencies in protecting and enforcing copyrights and trademarks.
As part of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, the Administration developed and introduced, along with the European Commission, a proposal for an innovative new environmental goods and services agreement in the WTO and a commitment by all WTO members to remove barriers to trade for a specific set of climate-friendly technologies and services.
The report also provides information on various FTAs, as well as bilateral and regional negotiations and agreements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the U.S.-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), the Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA), and the APEC forum, as well as trade and policy information on numerous individual countries in the Americas, Europe and Eurasia, Asia, and Africa.
USTR press release (dated 03/04/08) available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2008/March/Bush_Administration_Delivers_Annual_Trade_Report_To_Congress.html
2008 Trade Agenda and 2007 Annual Report available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2008/2008_Trade_Policy_Agenda/asset_upload_file649_14563.pdf