Trade Legislation in the 108th Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 30, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL32698 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Raymond J. Ahearn, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
When the 108th Congress convened in January 2003, few observers predicted that trade would
be a
top legislative concern. Congress, just six months earlier, had passed by a narrow margin the Trade
Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-210 ), the first major piece of trade legislation in almost a decade.
Nevertheless, trade remained a top-level domestic and foreign policy issue in 2003 and 2004.
The 108th Congress completed work on a number of major trade bills. Most notably, bills to
implement free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile, Singapore, Australia, and Morocco, and to
enhance trade benefits for the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa were passed and signed by the
President. Legislation repealing an export tax benefit long ruled a violation of U.S. World Trade
Organization (WTO) obligations passed, thereby moving the European Union closer to ending
sanctions on $4 billion of U.S. exports. In addition, Congress passed a miscellaneous tariff bill that
eliminated or suspended tariffs on hundreds of products and repealed the 1916 Antidumping Act,
which also had been ruled a violation of WTO provisions.
The implementing bills for the four FTAs were passed by wide margins, running contrary to
predictions of some observers that Congress was turning protectionist or anti-trade. All agreements
received strong backing from the business community, but encountered resistance from organized
labor. They eventually will eliminate tariffs on almost all traded goods, cover trade in services, and
provide enhanced protection for intellectual property rights. While the overall effects of any of the
agreements on the U.S. economy are expected to be minimal, each agreement provides U.S.
exporters and investors with additional market openings and opportunities.
Protection for the U.S. steel industry was a prominent concern of the 108th Congress. In 2003,
many Members supported the steel industry's efforts to persuade President Bush to extend the import
restraint regime he had imposed in 2002, while others supported steel-consuming industries' efforts
to roll back the import restraints. The more globalized U.S. economy contributed to rising concerns
in Congress about whether U.S. companies were increasingly "offshoring" or relocating service
sector jobs to low-wage developing countries, as well as to generalized anxiety about job losses
associated with China's growing trade prowess and its policy of pegging its currency to the dollar.
Congress also engaged in an intensive debate generated by growing consumer interest in
purchasing more affordable prescription drugs from abroad. The issue was addressed in elements
of three bills introduced in the Senate and one bill which passed the House in 2003.
A number of export policy issues were also the subject of legislative activity in the 108th
Congress. While policies that promote exports through financing and efforts to open foreign markets
attracted a limited amount of legislative activity, the restrictive component of export policy,
particularly economic sanctions targeting Burma, Cuba, and Syria, received more attention. This
report will not be updated.
