Presidential Executive Order Regarding the Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits

"

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

OMNIBUS REPORT ON SIGNIFICANT TRADE DEFICITS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure the informed exercise of the authority over international trade granted to me by law, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1.  Policy.  Free and fair trade is critical to the Nation's prosperity, national security, and foreign policy.  It is in America's economic and national security interests to promote commerce by strengthening our relationships with our trading partners, vigorously enforcing our Nation's trade laws, improving the overall conditions for competition and trade, and ensuring the strength of our manufacturing and defense industrial bases.

For many years, the United States has not obtained the full scope of benefits anticipated under a number of international trade agreements or from participating in the World Trade Organization.  The United States annual trade deficit in goods exceeds $700 billion, and the overall trade deficit exceeded $500 billion in 2016...."
Trade deficits

Fact Sheet: Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws

"The Executive Order signed on March 31, 2017, promotes the efficient and effective administration of U.S. customs and trade laws by establishing enhanced measures to collect duties and a heightened enforcement posture for addressing trade violations that threaten the safety and economic security of the United States.

The United States must ensure a level playing field for U.S. industries and to protect against unfair competition and practices from foreign governments when importing goods.  To do this, the United States imposes additional duties, called antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD), determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce), on certain imported goods to offset unfair low prices and foreign government subsidies.  The United States also imposes appropriate bonding requirements on entries of articles subject to AD/CVD when necessary to protect the revenue of the United States.  However, the evasion of AD/CVD on imports into the United States and other trade violations may cause U.S. industries to suffer from unfair import competition and deprive the U.S. government of revenue.  

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, $14 billion of imported goods were subject to AD/CVD, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collected $1.5 billion in AD/CVD cash deposits.  CBP’s collection of AD/CVD cash deposits increased over 25 percent since FY 2015 and by almost 200 percent since FY 2014.  As of the end of FY 2016, $2.8 billion of AD/CVD duties were owed to the U.S. government for imports going back to 2001.

The executive order aligns with CBP’s operational approach to combating U.S. trade violations by detecting, deterring, and disrupting illicit trade practices, and by enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness and security..."

Antidumpting and trade

International Trade and Finance: Overview and Issues for the 115th Congress

"The U.S. Constitution grants authority to Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations. Congress exercises this authority in numerous ways, including through oversight of trade policy and consideration of legislation to implement trade agreements and authorize trade programs. Policy issues cover areas such as U.S. trade negotiations; U.S. trade and economic relations with specific regions and countries; international institutions focused on trade; tariff and nontariff barriers; worker dislocation due to trade liberalization; enforcement of trade laws; import and export policies; international investment; economic sanctions; and other trade-related functions of the federal government. Congress also has authority over U.S. financial commitments to international financial institutions and oversight responsibilities for trade- and finance-related agencies of the U.S. government. Major Actions in the 114th Congress.

The 114th Congress passed legislation that:
 renewed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) through July 1, 2021 (subject to passage of an extension disapproval resolution in 2018), allowing implementing legislation for trade agreements to be considered under expedited legislative procedures, provided that certain statutory requirements are met;
 reauthorized Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), the Export-Import Bank (ExIm Bank), and several U.S. trade preference programs on a multi-year basis;
 reauthorized the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and
 authorized U.S. participation in quota  and governance reforms at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)..."
International trade

How Preferential Trade Agreements Affect the U.S. Economy

"Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are treaties that remove barriers to trade and set rules for international commerce between two countries or among a small group of countries. PTAs directly affect a country’s economy by altering its flows of trade and investment. Primarily through trade, PTAs indirectly affect other aspects of a country’s economy—such as productivity, output, and employment. As of August 2016, the United States had established 14 PTAs with 20 of its trading partners. This report examines the economic literature on trade and PTAs and summarizes that literature’s findings on how trade and PTAs have affected the U.S. economy..."
Trade agreements

Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation

"A trade secret is confidential, commercially valuable information that provides a company with a competitive advantage, such as customer lists, methods of production, marketing strategies, pricing information, and chemical formulae. (Well-known examples of trade secrets include the formula for Coca-Cola, the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the algorithm used by Google’s search engine.) To succeed in the global marketplace, U.S. firms depend upon their trade secrets, which increasingly are becoming their most valuable intangible assets.

However, U.S. companies annually suffer billions of dollars in losses due to the theft of their trade secrets by employees, corporate competitors, and even foreign governments. Stealing trade secrets has increasingly involved the use of cyberspace, advanced computer technologies, and mobile communication devices, thus making the theft relatively anonymous and difficult to detect. The Chinese and Russian governments have been particularly active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage with respect to U.S. trade secrets and proprietary information..."
Trade secrets

BEA’s New Data Tool Provides Fast Access to Trade and Investment Stats for Countries

"A new data tool--International Trade and Investment Country Facts Application--on the Bureau of Economic Analysis website gives users a snapshot of statistics on trade and investment between the United States and another country by simply clicking on a world map.

These fast facts at your fingertips can include:

• Total exports, imports and trade balance between the United States and the country you select.
• The top five categories of goods and services the United States buys from and sells to that country.
• Country level data on U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States and on the activities of multinational enterprises such as employment and sales..."Trade data

Energy trade is a key part of overall U.S. trade flows

View a graph indicating energy trade as a key component of overall U.S. trade.
Energy trade

The Role of Trade Secrets in Innovation Policy
"Many businesses have developed proprietary information that provides a competitive advantage because it is not known to others. As the United States continues its shift to a knowledge- and service-based economy, the strength and competitiveness of domestic firms increasingly depends upon their know-how and intangible assets. Trade secrets are the form of intellectual property that protects this sort of confidential information.

Trade secret law protects secret, valuable business information from misappropriation by others. Subject matter ranging from marketing data to manufacturing know-how may be protected under the trade secret laws. Trade secret status is not limited to a fixed number of years, but endures so long as the information is valuable and maintained as a secret. A trade secret is misappropriated when it has been obtained through the abuse of a confidential relationship or improper means of acquisition.

A number of competing innovation policy concerns help shape the particular doctrines that comprise trade secret law. The availability of legal protection for trade secrets potentially promotes innovation, encourages firms to invest in employee development, and confirms standards of commercial ethics and morality. On the other hand, trade secret protection involves the suppression of information, which may hinder competition and the proper functioning of the marketplace. An overly robust trade secret law also could restrain employee mobility and promote investment in costly, but socially inefficient security measures..."

Trade Agreements: Impact on the U.S. Economy
"The United States is in the process of considering a number of trade agreements. In addition, the
111th Congress may address the issue of trade promotion authority (TPA), which expired on July
1, 2007. These agreements range from bilateral trade agreements with countries that account for
meager shares of U.S. trade to multilateral negotiations that could affect large numbers of U.S.
workers and businesses. During this process, Congress likely will be presented with an array of
data estimating the impact of trade agreements on the economy, or on a particular segment of the
economy...

This report examines the major features of economic models being used to estimate the effects of
trade agreements. It assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the models as an aid in helping
Congress evaluate the economic impact of trade agreements on the U.S. economy. In addition,
this report identifies and assesses some of the assumptions used in the economic models and how
these assumptions affect the data generated by the models. Finally, this report evaluates the
implications for Congress of various options it may consider as it assesses trade agreements."