Trade Law Daily is a Warren News publication.

USTR Asks for Global Supply Chain Analysis in ITC Report on Import Restraints

On August 16, 2010, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk sent a letter to the International Trade Commission asking it to include an analysis of global supply chains in its biennial report, “The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints.”

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.

According to USTR Kirk, global supply chains have altered the patterns of production and trade in the world economy. Therefore, the ITC should include in its Import Restraint report an overview of global supply chains and describe U.S. involvement in them and their effect on U.S. companies, workers, and consumers.

2009 ITC Report Found U.S. Would Benefit if All Import Restraints Removed

The ITC’s 2009 report on U.S. import restraints found that economic welfare would increase by about $4.6 billion annually by 2013 if all significant import restraints - such as tariffs and tariff-rate quotas - were unilaterally removed. It also estimated that exports would expand by $5.5 billion and imports by $13.1 billion. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 10/09/10 news, 09100935, for BP summary.)

Document available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com