Trump Orders
Review of WTO and Other Trade Deals to Secure US Interests
US
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 29 April ordering a review
of all trade deals involving the United States, which he said would play a role
in keeping “jobs and wealth in our country.”
The executive order titled “Addressing Trade Agreement
Violations and Abuses”. An “Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy” has been
created in the White House to interact with DoC and
USTR. The text of the Order is:
EXECUTIVE
ORDER
Addressing
Trade Agreement Violations and Abuses
By
the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section
1. Policy. Every trade agreement and
investment agreement entered into by the United States, and all trade relations
and trade preference programs of the United States, should enhance our economic
growth, contribute favorably to our balance of trade, and strengthen the
American manufacturing base. Many United States free trade agreements,
investment agreements, and trade relations have failed, in whole or in part, to
meet these criteria. The result has been large and persistent trade deficits, a
lack of reciprocal treatment of American goods and investment, the offshoring
of factories and jobs, the loss of American intellectual property and reduced
technological innovation, downward pressure on wage and income growth, and an
impaired tax base. It is the policy of the United States to negotiate new trade
agreements, investment agreements, and trade relations that benefit American
workers and domestic manufacturers, farmers, and ranchers; protect our
intellectual property; and encourage domestic research and development. It is
also the policy of the United States to renegotiate or terminate any existing
trade agreement, investment agreement, or trade relation that, on net, harms
the United States economy, United States businesses, United States intellectual
property rights and innovation rate, or the American people.
Sec.
2. Conduct Performance Reviews. The Secretary
of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation
with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney
General, and the Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy,
shall conduct comprehensive performance reviews of:
(a)
all bilateral, plurilateral,
and multilateral trade agreements and investment agreements to which the United
States is a party; and
(b)
all trade relations with countries governed by the
rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with which the United States does
not have free trade agreements but with which the United States runs
significant trade deficits in goods.
Sec.
3. Report of Violations and Abuses. (a) Each
performance review shall be submitted to the President by the Secretary of
Commerce and the USTR within 180 days of the date of this order and shall
identify:
(i) those violations
or abuses of any United States trade agreement, investment agreement, WTO rule
governing any trade relation under the WTO, or trade preference program that
are harming American workers or domestic manufacturers, farmers, or ranchers;
harming our intellectual property rights; reducing our rate of innovation; or
impairing domestic research and development;
(ii) unfair treatment by trade and investment
partners that is harming American workers or domestic manufacturers, farmers,
or ranchers; harming our intellectual property rights; reducing our rate of
innovation; or impairing domestic research and development;
(iii)
instances where a trade agreement, investment agreement, trade relation, or
trade preference program has failed with regard to such factors as predicted
new jobs created, favorable effects on the trade balance, expanded market
access, lowered trade barriers, or increased United States exports; and
(iv) lawful and
appropriate actions to remedy or correct deficiencies identified pursuant to
subsections (a)(i) through (a)(iii) of this section.
(b)
The findings of the performance reviews required by this order shall help guide
United States trade policy and trade negotiations.
Sec. 4. Remedy of Trade Violations and
Abuses. The Secretary of Commerce, the USTR, and other heads of executive
departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall take every appropriate and
lawful action to address violations of trade law, abuses of trade law, or
instances of unfair treatment.
India
will not affected directly since the balance of trade with US is in favour of Uncle Sam. However, the issue may come up on the
services front. India and the US do not have a bilateral trade treaty. On
intellectual property, India will not fare so well with many US allegations of
counterfeiting against us.
The
release of the order capped a tumultuous week on trade in Washington, which saw
the US president suggest that he was ready to issue a withdrawal from the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a tripartite deal with Canada and Mexico
which has governed much of the trade within the region over the last 17 years.
After news leaked last week that Trump was considering
a withdrawal, it later emerged that the US leader had changed his mind and
would continue to push for a renegotiation instead. The new report on trade
deals will include coverage of NAFTA, according to the Secretary of Commerce.
The US leader also discussed the issue with his NAFTA
counterparts, who called him to voice their own concerns over the damage that a
sudden withdrawal notice could incur.
Trump
also suggested last week that he might pull the United States out of its
five-year-old deal with South Korea, depending on whether Seoul is willing to
negotiate an upgrade and if so, on what terms.
The US president claimed that the deal has not
sufficiently benefitted the US, telling the Washington Post that the US is
“getting destroyed in Korea.”