Advancing Development through Trade

Trade is an important vehicle for helping poorer countries integrate into the world economy and spur growth and development. USTR fosters this by seeking to expand trade with developing nations through its administration of trade preference programs and by supporting efforts to build trade capacity.

• U.S. trade preference programs have contributed to increased and more diverse trade with developing countries. However, gaps in preferential access continue for certain sectors, such as agriculture and apparel, which are particularly important to developing countries.
• Concerns persist that trade preferences benefit countries and cover products that have competitive access to the U.S. market, while failing to benefit needy countries and other products. Several of the leading suppliers of non-fuel preference imports—India, Thailand, and Brazil—are among the top exporters in the world.
• Trade preference programs have expanded in number and scope over time, becoming more complex (see figure 1). U.S. administration of the multiple trade preference programs has been disjointed. More integrated administration is required that includes systematic efforts to review foreign countries' compliance with criteria and more integrated reporting on recipients' use of available benefits to meet their shared economic development goals.
  Highlights of GAO-08-443 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-1209 (PDF)
• Stakeholders and other experts on preference programs provided GAO with a number of options for improving African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the trade preference program directed at sub-Saharan Africa.
  Highlights of GAO-09-916 (PDF)
• Some of the neediest countries lack capacity to take advantage of the available preference opportunities. USTR co-chairs the interagency working group that coordinates U.S. efforts to build trade capacity in developing countries. Despite several billion dollars devoted to building trade capacity and congressional mandates to provide assistance in regions such as Africa, significant questions remain about the effectiveness of those efforts.
  Highlights of GAO-05-150 (PDF)

Figure 1: Growth of Trade Preference Programs

Source: GAO analysis of official U.S. trade statistics.

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• USTR has begun to consolidate its reporting on preference programs in response to GAO's recommendations, but to ensure that trade preference programs meet U.S. goals, USTR should periodically reconvene relevant agencies to discuss the programs jointly and consider ways to administer and evaluate them in a more integrated manner.
• USTR should develop means to periodically review all beneficiary countries' compliance with eligibility criteria such as adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights and equitable U.S. market access.
• As Congress deliberates program renewal in the future, it should consider which elements of the approaches used to oversee and administer these programs have benefits that may be applied more broadly to trade preference programs in general.
• Congress should also consider streamlining program reporting requirements to facilitate evaluating the programs’ progress in meeting their shared economic development goals.

Highlights of GAO-08-443 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

International Trade

International Trade

U.S.-Africa Trade

International Trade

International Trade

International Trade

Foreign Assistance

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