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1 1 (February 22, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveokc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service inform'ing the Iegislative debate since 1914 Updated February 22, 2024 U.S. Trade Debates: Select Disputes and Actions Introduction During the Trump Administration, the United States and some of its major trading partners engaged in a contentious war of words over trade-one that tipped over into action in 2018, mostly in the form of increased tariffs. The tariffs imposed by the United States, combined with retaliatory measures adopted by other countries (particularly with respect to China), reportedly continue to have noticeable effects on trade flows and U.S. firms. To date, several disputes related to these actions have not been fully resolved; some reached panel decisions finding the tariffs inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. While the scale and scope of these unilateral U.S. tariff increases are unprecedented in modern times, tensions and irritants in trade relations are not uncommon. During the last 100 years, the United States has been involved in a number of trade disputes. Per the WTO, as of January 2024, the United States has been involved in 282 dispute cases with 43 WTO members (addressed through the WTO dispute settlement system since 1995), either as a complainant or a respondent (Figure 1). Most disputes are settled, or when unresolved are contained or defused through bilateral and multilateral negotiations. Since the early 20th century, one dispute has resulted in a worldwide tit-for-tat escalation of tariffs: the trade dispute ignited by the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. Figure I. U.S. WTO Disputes, Jan. 1995 - Jan. 2024 20 3 5 23 i7 8 20 6 1 4 10 4 1i 6 8 5 6 mBrought by the United States 4 3 Brought against the U ited States 41 3 8 0 20 40 60 80 Source: CRS with data from the WTO. Notes: Figures reflect the number of times a WTO member participated in disputes as a complainant (i.e., there may be several complainants in a given dispute)-not the distinct number of formal disputes settlement cases filed, which total 282. Addressing US. Trade Disputes The United States has used unilateral measures and has engaged with trading partners in bilateral and multilateral fora to address trade concerns. U.S. federal statutes provide for trade remedy measures to address potential adverse effects (i.e., material injury or threat thereof) on domestic industry of unfair foreign trade practices, such as antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD), or to reduce the flow of fairly traded imports that threaten to impair U.S. national security or cause serious injury or threat thereof (safeguard measures). In addition, the United States has conducted bilateral discussions with many trading partners to manage frictions over discrete issues and achieve expanded market access for U.S. firms. More often, the United States has resorted to the multilateral forum under the WTO or its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), to settle disputes. As part of the dispute settlement process, WTO members may seek authorization to retaliate if trading partners maintain measures determined to be inconsistent with WTO rules. Major U.S. Trade Disputes Prior to 2017 Below is a historic overview of 10 controversial U.S. trade disputes over various trade barriers. These select cases demonstrate that since the creation of the GATT in 1947, the United States, for the most part, has entered into negotiations to reduce trade barriers and has imposed unilateral, restrictive trade measures in limited instances. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) The Tariff Act of 1930, commonly known as the Smoot- Hawley Tariff Act, is recognized by economists as having triggered a global trade war-one that deepened the Great Depression. Originally meant to help heavily indebted farmers hit by falling commodity and land prices, the act's scope was eventually expanded to include thousands of products from numerous sectors. While the United States reduced its import dependence, other countries retaliated with increased tariffs on their imports, and by 1933, U.S. exports had declined by at least 60%. GATT negotiations eventually reduced tariffs on a multilateral basis. US.-European Union (EU) Chicken War (1962) The dispute, known as the Chicken War, began in 1962, when the European Economic Community (EEC, a predecessor to the EU) sharply raised its common external tariff on poultry. The United States retaliated in 1963 after consultations with the EEC failed to resolve the dispute and a GATT dispute panel of experts had convened. The United States raised tariffs on potato starch, brandy, dextrine, and light trucks. The truck tariff (25%)-still in place today- applies to all U.S. truck imports, unless reduced or phased out by a U.S. free trade agreement (FTA). U.S.-Japan Trade Conflicts (I 980s) As the Japanese economy, along with its auto industry, took off, trade tensions between Japan and the United States escalated significantly during the early 1980s. In an effort EU China Canada South Korea India Mexico Brazil Japan Argentina Indonesia Others

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