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NEWS RELEASE 03-018; FEBRUARY 25,2003
February 25, 2003
News Release 03-018
Inv. No. TA-2111-1
ITC SEEKS ADDITIONAL INPUT FOR INVESTIGATION
ON THE IMPACT ON THE U.S. ECONOMY OF FIVE TRADE AGREEMENTS
ENACTED OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is seeking additional input for its investigation of
the economic impact on the United States of five trade agreements enacted over the last 25 years.
The investigation, The Impact of Trade Agreements: Effect of the Tokyo Round, U.S.-Israel FTA,
U.S.-Canada FTA, NAFTA, and the Uruguay Round on the U.S. Economy, is required by section
2111 of the Trade Act of 2002.
The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, instituted the investigation in
September 2002 and conducted a public hearing on January 14, 2003. At the conclusion of that
hearing, the Commission determined that there were a number of issues on which it wanted
additional, particularly sector-specific, input.
Specifically, the Commission is seeking further input from interested parties (including, but not
limited to, manufacturers, service providers, labor, and other interest groups) concerning:
- their opinions or experiences with respect to the trade agreements, addressing in as much
detail as possible the impact of these five agreements, their specific provisions, and their
effectiveness;
- the impact of these five agreements on individual sectors relative to any other developments
that have affected the sectors since 1980 (such as changes in government regulation or trade
policy, industry structure, technology, level of globalization, and competitive
strength/position relative to foreign producers);
- any sector-specific differentiation that can be made between the effects of tariff liberalization
versus non-tariff measure liberalization; and
- their views on the effectiveness of negotiated commitments in facilitating actual market
access.
The ITC welcomes responses on these matters from all interested parties. Responses should be
submitted in writing (one original and 14 copies) at the earliest practical time but no later than 5:15
p.m. on March 31, 2003. Responses should be submitted to the Secretary to the Commission, 500 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. All submissions, except for confidential business information,
will be available for public inspection.
Further information on the scope of the investigation is available in the ITC's notice of investigation,
dated September 13, 2002, and notice and supplementary solicitation of written comments, dated
February 25, 2003, which can be downloaded from the ITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be
obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or at 202-205-1816.
The ITC will submit its report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Ways and Means by August 6, 2003.
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