Trade issues have taken a central role in policy debate during 2008. Whether it was questioning if NAFTA should be reopened for negotiation or whether free trade agreements (FTAs) with Korea and Columbia should receive Congressional consideration, trade has never been far from the front pages. At the same time, unique challenges and concerns heighten the urgency with which a future administration must pursue trade policy; for example, the incorporation of emerging issues like global warming and border security into trade agreements.
Reassessing US Trade Policy reviews the US trade policymaking process and presents innovative ideas for retooling specific facets of current policy. At the heart of any future trade policy lies an unfinished agenda of US trade initiatives such as the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations; bilateral free trade agreements, which are signed but not implemented; FTAs under negotiation; and broader "superregional" ventures like the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. This book outlines the fundamentals of present US trade policy, embarks upon an ambitious analysis of US relations with major trading partners, and discusses the scope of prospective initiatives.
