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1996 Country Reports
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The Department of State is submitting to the Congress its Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices in compliance with Section 2202 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. As the legislation requires, we have prepared detailed reports on the economic policy and trade practices of countries with which the United States has significant economic or trade relationships. This is the Department of State's ninth annual report. It now includes reports on 77 countries, customs territories and customs unions.
Each report contains nine sections.
The first (subsections a through e) outlines the country's laws and practices with respect to internationally recognized worker rights.
The second (subsection f) highlights conditions of worker rights in goodsproducing sectors where US capital is invested.
Finally, a table cites the extent of such investment by sector where information is available.
The country reports are based on information supplied by U.S. Embassies, which is analyzed and reviewed by the Department of State in consultation with other U.S. Government agencies. The reports are intended to serve as general guides to economic conditions in specific countries. We have worked to standardize the reports, but there are unavoidable differences reflecting large variations in data availability. In some cases, access to reliable data is limited, particularly in countries making transitions to market economies. Nonetheless, each report incorporates the best information currently available.
Alan P. Larson
Assistant Secretary of State
for Economic and Business Affairs
Text Of Section 2202 Of The Omnibus Trade And Competitiveness Act Of 1988
"The Secretary of State shall, not later than January 31 of each year, prepare and transmit to the Committee on [International Relations]* and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and to other appropriate committees of the Congress, a detailed report regarding the economic policy and trade practices of each country with which the United States has an economic or trade relationship. The Secretary may direct the appropriate officers of the Department of State who are serving overseas, in consultation with appropriate officers or employees of other departments and agencies of the United States, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce, to coordinate the preparation of such information in a country as is necessary to prepare the report under this section. The report shall identify and describe, with respect to each country:
1. The macroeconomic policies of the country and their impact on the overall growth in demand for United States exports;
2. The impact of macroeconomic and other policies on the exchange rate of the country and the resulting impact on price competitiveness of United States exports;
3. Any change in structural policies [including tax incentives, regulation governing financial institutions, production standards, and patterns of industrial ownership] that may affect the country's growth rate and its demand for United States exports;
4. The management of the country's external debt and its implications for trade with the United States;
5. Acts, policies, and practices that constitute significant trade barriers to United States exports or foreign direct investment in that country by United States persons, as identified under section 181(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2241(a)(1));
* In 1995, the Committee on Foreign Affairs changed its name to the Committee on International Relations.
6. Acts, policies, and practices that provide direct or indirect government support for exports from that country, including exports by small businesses;
7. The extent to which the country's laws and enforcement of those laws afford adequate protection to United States intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and mask works; and
8. The country's laws, enforcement of those laws, and practices with respect to internationally recognized worker rights (as defined in section 502(a)(4) of the Trade Act of 1974), the conditions of worker rights in any sector which produces goods in which United States capital is invested, and the extent of such investment."
Notes on Preparation of the Reports
Subsections a. through e. of the Worker Rights section (section 8) are abridged versions of section 6 in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, submitted to the Committees on International Relations of the House of Representatives and on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate in January 1997. For a comprehensive and authoritative discussion of worker rights in each country please refer to that report.
Subsection f. of the Worker Rights section highlights conditions of worker rights in goodsproducing sectors where U.S. capital is invested. A table cites the extent of such investment by sector where information is available. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce has supplied information on the U.S. direct investment position at the end of 1995 for all countries for which foreign direct investment has been reported to it. Readers should note that "U.S. Direct Position Abroad" is defined as "the net book value of U.S. parent companies' equity in, and net outstanding loans to, their foreign affiliates" (foreign business enterprises owned 10 percent or more by U.S. persons or companies). Where a figure is negative, the U.S. parent owes money to the affiliate. The table does not necessarily indicate total assets held in each country. In some instances, the narrative refers to investments for which figures may not appear in the table.
Some Frequently Used Acronyms
ADB Asian Development Bank
BIS Bank for International Settlements
CACM Central American Common Market
CARICOM Caribbean Common Market
CAP Common Agricultural Policy (of the EU)
CCC Commodity Credit Corporation (Department of Agriculture)
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EMS European Monetary System (of the EU)
ERM Exchange Rate Mechanism (of the EU)
ESAF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility
EU European Union
EXIMBANK U.S. ExportImport Bank
FOREX foreign exchange
FY fiscal year
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP gross domestic product
GNP gross national product
GSP Generalized System of Preferences
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (World Bank)
IFIs international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank
and regional development banks)
ILO International Labor Organization (of the United Nations)
IMF International Monetary Fund
IDB InterAmerican Development Bank
IPR intellectual property rights
LIBOR London Interbank Offer Rate
MFN most favored nation
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NGOs nongovernment organizations
NIS Newly Independent States (of the former Soviet Union)
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPIC U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation
PTT Post, Telegraph and Telephone
SAP Structural Adjustment Program (of the IMF/World Bank)
SDR Special Drawing Rights (of the IMF)
STF Structural Transformation Facility
TRIPs WTO Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights
UR Uruguay Round of trade negotiations in the GATT
USD U.S. dollar
VAT valueadded tax
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
WTO World Trade Organization
1996 Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices
Africa
East Asia and the Pacific
Europe and Canada
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
New Independent States and Russia
South Asia
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