The Year in Trade 1998 provides a practical review of U.S. international trade laws, a report on the operation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a review of U.S. bilateral trade agreements with major trading partners, an overview of regional trade activities during the year, and a survey of actions under U.S. trade law.

The 50th Anniversary edition also includes a time line that catalogs the 50-year history of the U.S. trade agreements program.

ITC's The Year in Trade is one of the government's most comprehensive reviews of U.S. trade-related activities, covering major multilateral, regional, and bilateral developments. The 1998 edition also covers:

• global economic conditions and U.S. trade with major trading partners during 1998;

• significant activities in the WTO, including its dispute settlement mechanism, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development;

• bilateral trade issues with major U.S. trading partners, such as those with the European Union on the recent banana dispute; with Canada on magazines; with Japan on autos and deregulation; with Mexico on sweeteners and meat; with China on WTO accession and intellectual property protection; with Taiwan on WTO accession; and with Korea on automobiles and taxes on distilled spirits;

• the operation of such programs as the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, the Andean Trade Preference Act, and the U.S. textile and apparel trade program; and,

• major U.S. trade sanctions activities involving Cuba, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Iran, Iraq, and Libya.

Published annually, The Year in Trade includes complete listings of antidumping, countervailing duty, intellectual property right infringement, and section 301 cases undertaken by the U.S. government. Statistical tables highlight U.S. bilateral trade with major trading partners.

The Year in Trade 1998 (USITC Publication 3192, May 1999) will be available on the ITC's Internet server at www.usitc.gov. The report also is expected to be available at federal depository libraries in the United States and at offices of the U.S. Information Agency abroad. A printed copy may be requested by calling 202-205-1809 or by writing to the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20436. Requests also may be faxed to 202-205-2104.