Report by the WTO Secretariat

The openness and transparency of the U.S. trade regime have been key contributing factors to the efficiency that characterizes the U.S. economy as a whole. Since its last Review in 2006, the United States has taken further steps to liberalize its trade regime, although mostly on a preferential basis. In the face of the economic uncertainty prevalent in early 2008, U.S. welfare would be best promoted by exploiting the adjustment capacity of the U.S. economy and continuing to reduce barriers to market access and other distorting measures, including those that result from high levels of assistance in agriculture and energy. Moreover, ongoing efforts to incorporate additional security considerations into U.S. trade and investment policies should be pursued within the framework of the risk-based approach that seems to have served the United States well. Further reforms undertaken on a MFN basis would also lessen distortions in global markets and strengthen the multilateral trading system, as the United States is both the world’s largest single economy and trader.