The U.S. Presidential Trade Policy Agenda 2013

Already on March 1, 2013 US President Obama has submitted a report to Congress and by outlining his trade policy agenda for the ongoing year

The key goals can be defined as follows: enhancing the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, launching negotiations with the EU toward a transatlantic trade and investment partnership, securing results at WTO the World’s Trade Organisation through fresh, credible approaches for trade liberalisation (trade facilitation initiative, expansion of the IT Technology Agreement, negotiations on a new International Services Agreement.

Further is on the agenda that the Administration will enhance President Obama’s initiative to double U.S. exports in support of up to two million additional jobs by the end of 2014. In order to facilitate this objective, the Administration will seek approval and implementation of market opening negotiating efforts with Congress on securing trade promotion authority, meaning to negotiate trade agreements without congressional amendments that could fail with the negotiating partners.

Another point is to work with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to ensure that the bi-lateral FTA’s Free Trade Agreements that went into effect 2012 to be soon operational. The three states should uphold their commitments in such areas as agricultural market acces and the application of sanitary and phytosanitary standards to American agricultural exports. Two additional objectives presented do include that American exporters begin to benefit from Russia’s accession to the WTO, as well as to advance trade and investment opportunities in Africa, India and other countries.

In addition, the Administration commits itself to continue to monitor and enforce American trade agreements by the Interagency Trade Enforcement Centre and all other resources to identify and challenge unfair trade practices, whenever they may undermine a level playing field of American businesses, workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, service providers, creators and innovators, and the stepping-up to combat localisation barriers to trade which are measures designed to protect, favour or stimulate domestic industries at the expense of foreign competitors. The Task Force on Localisation Barriers to Trade, founded in mid 2012 will coordinate an administration wide approach to tackle this growing challenge in bi-lateral, regional and multi lateral forums.