The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations, and the reactions of Mexico's farmers to U.S. imports are the topics covered in the current issue of the International Economic Review (IER), a publication of the U.S. International Trade Commission's Office of Economics.

The IER is produced as part of the ITC's international trade monitoring program. The program's purpose is to keep the Commission informed about significant developments in international economics and trade and to maintain the Commission's readiness to provide technical information and advice to policymakers in the Congress and the executive branch. The opinions and conclusions of the IER are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or any individual Commissioner.

The current issue (January/February 2004) includes the following articles:

• Trade Under AGOA Continues to Expand -- On May 18, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) into law. Subsequently, on August 6, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Trade Act of 2002, modifying the AGOA legislation and providing expanded preferential access for imports from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) beneficiary countries. These modifications are collectively referred to as AGOA II. This article discusses AGOA, its subsequent modifications, and U.S. trade with SSA beneficiary countries.

• WTO Trade Negotiations Pause after Cancun -- Members of the WTO could not reach agreement at their September 2003 ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, on how to move forward with the Doha multilateral trade negotiations. Ministers were to set the terms, or "modalities," for the specific negotiations that were scheduled to conclude the Doha trade talks by January 2005. Instead, negotiators reached an impasse largely over agricultural subsidies and whether to open negotiations on new issues such as investment, competition policy, government procurement, and trade facilitation of customs matters. Consultations in subsequent months were to develop plans to renew the multilateral trade negotiations, but as the year 2004 began, many of the original disagreements from the Cancun conference remained unresolved.

• Mexican Farmers Against Imports from the United States: An Update -- A December 2003 World Bank report concluded that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had a positive impact on Mexican agriculture a conclusion reached by some other analysts, including Mexican ones. Yet, the Mexican government continues to erect barriers against agricultural imports to appease farmers, who blame NAFTA for widespread rural poverty.

In addition, the publication reviews U.S. economic performance relative to other major trade partners, U.S. trade performance, and economic forecasts. Comparative economic indicators for major industrialized countries are also provided.

The current issue of the IER (USITC Publication 3675, January/February 2004) will be available on the ITC's Internet server at www.usitc.gov. To request a printed copy, write to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436, or fax requests to 202-205-2104.

To be added to the mailing list for the publication, write to the Office of Economics, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436, or fax requests to 202-205-2340.