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PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/300

TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Continued openness is key at a time of economic uncertainty

The openness and transparency of the US trade regime have been key contributing factors to the efficiency that characterizes the US economy. In the face of economic uncertainty, US welfare would be best promoted by continuing to reduce barriers to market access and other distorting measures, including those that result from high levels of assistance in agriculture and energy, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of the United States.

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The report says that the United States has taken further steps to liberalize its trade regime since its previous review in 2006, although mostly on a preferential basis. Additional reforms undertaken on a MFN basis would lessen distortions in global markets and strengthen the multilateral trading system, as the United States is both the world’s largest single economy and trader.

The WTO Secretariat report, along with a policy statement by the Government of the United States, will be the basis for the ninth TPR of the united States by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 9 and 11 June 2008.

The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government, will be the basis for the Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

• Secretariat report
  > Contents and summary observations
  > Economic environment
  > Trade and investment regimes
  > Trade policies and practices by measure
  > Trade policies by sector
  > Appendix tables
    
• Government report
    

Note  back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews  back to top

Oman: 25 and 27 June 2008
Singapore: 14 and 16 of July 2008
Barbados: 17 and 19 September 2008

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