U.S. Membership in the
WTO:
Supporting American Workers,
Farmers, Businesses, Economic Progress and
Security.
April 12, 2000 |
The United States Benefits from the
WTO. The WTO is central to our efforts to lower foreign trade barriers
and establish international rules for fair trade; U.S. participation and
leadership in the WTO are of critical importance.
- •WTO
membership guarantees U.S. goods and services providers access to markets
world-wide, promotes sustainable development, raises living standards and
strengthens peace.
- •Membership in the WTO helps advance
America's competitiveness in agriculture, manufacturing and high technology
industries, advances the rule of law in commerce, and promotes stability in
times of economic crisis.
The World's Largest Exporter, the U.S.
Gains the Most from a Strong, Open, Multilateral Trading System.
- •With 96% of the world's people and nearly
four-fifths of the world's economy outside our borders, Americans need to
compete in foreign markets to generate economic growth at home. Since 1994,
approximately one fifth of U.S. economic growth has been linked to the dynamic
export sector.
• Export-related jobs are concentrated in
high-wage, high-skill fields that help raise living standards for American
families. Jobs supported by goods exports pay 13-16% more than the national
average.
The WTO Improved the Trade Environment for the
U.S. over the Past Five Years By:
- •Improving
Market Access: In the Uruguay
Round, negotiations cut tariffs substantially and by a full third in the
manufacturing sector; the Round offered American farmers and ranchers export
opportunities through the first enforceable commitments to reduce barriers and
to limit the use of export subsidies; and American services providers gained
real export opportunities for the first time in the history of the trading
system. New entrants into the global marketplace, particularly small and
medium-sized enterprises, also benefitted from these new market openings and
innovations.
- •Expanding
Rule of Law: the trading
system has changed from a complex set of rules applying to relatively
few trading partners into a
system where the rules apply to all.
- •Settling
Disputes: The WTO created procedures to
settle disputes promptly, eliminating many of the shortcomings of the earlier
GATT system where the process could drag out indefinitely. Application of the
rules is also more predictable. The United States has filed more complaints -
49 to date - than any other WTO Member and we are involved as a third party in
a number of other cases. The United States has prevailed in 23 of the 25
complaints acted on thus far, either by successful settlement or panel
victory.
- •Promoting
World Economic Stability: The WTO boosted the world's
ability to address economic crises. The respect WTO members showed for their
open market commitments in the 1997 - 99 Asian financial crisis helped prevent
a cycle of protection and retaliation similar to that of the Depression era,
ensured affected countries the market access they needed for recovery, and
minimized the damage to U.S. farmers and exporters of manufactured
goods.
- •Creating a dynamic forum for trade
liberalization: The WTO system responds to
21st
century
needs. The WTO realized and set in motion agreements on basic
telecommunications services, financial services, and
information technology, whose outcomes are larger in scope than the totality
of the Uruguay Round result. It also launched talks to reform further
agriculture and to expand services trade this year - two sectors critical to
U.S. interests.
- •Staying at the Cutting
Edge: The WTO has kept the trading
system at the cutting edge of technological development, benefitting both
business and consumers. According to the FCC, for example, the average price
U.S. consumers pay for an international long distance call fell from 74 cents
per minute to 55 cents per minute since the Agreement on Basic
Telecommunications came into effect. On some international
routes, rates are comparable with U.S. domestic long distance charges.
- •Protecting Intellectual Property
Rights: Member governments
have accepted a landmark set of rules for protecting patents, copyrights,
trademarks and other forms of intellectual property. This system protects
Americans' research and innovation and creates incentives for further
investment and technological progress worldwide.
- •Fostering
Greater Openness and Accountability: The
WTO has made a majority of its documents available to the public, reaching out
via symposia and other means to the NGO community and creating a Web page. All
the WTO Ministerial Meetings held thus far - in Singapore, Geneva and Seattle
- enjoyed strong NGO participation. These initial steps lay the foundation for
further enhancing the WTO's openness and accountability, which remains a
critical U.S. objective, including for WTO dispute settlement.
- •Global
Membership: The WTO has grown 50%, from the 90
Members which launched the Uruguay Round in 1986 to 136 in April 2000, with
over 30 more now seeking to negotiate entry. Stringent membership requirements
mean acceptance of WTO rules helps open foreign markets to American products
and promotes applicants' domestic economic reforms. Acceptance of WTO rules
has become a key element of newly emerging market economies in Central and
Eastern Europe, and of countries in Asia and the Middle East. Also, many more
African countries now participate meaningfully in the system.
The Benefits of the WTO Come Without Damaging
U.S. Sovereignty.
- •Neither the WTO nor its dispute panels can
compel the United States to change its laws or regulations. Only the U.S. can
decide how it will respond to WTO dispute settlement reports and only the U.S.
Congress can change U.S. law.
- •The United States and all other Members
retain the right to set the levels of environment, health, and safety
protection they deem appropriate, even when such levels of protection are
higher than those provided by international standards. Generally, WTO rules
simply require that Members opt for a less trade-restrictive measure when they
can, and avoid discriminating against foreign in favor of domestic products,
and that food safety measures be based on science.
- •The WTO is member-driven and its decisions
are reached by consensus among all Members. Members are responsible for
monitoring compliance with the Agreements and setting the WTO's course; the
Secretariat and the WTO Director General serve at the direction of the
Membership.