U.S. Trade Policy and Global Development

Publication Date: November 2008

Publisher: Center for Global Development

Author(s): Kimberly Elliott

Research Area: Trade

Keywords: Presidential transition; International Trade

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This White House and the World Policy Brief presents key facts and recommendations drawn from Chapter Seven of The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President.

The new president will have both the opportunity and the responsibility to reshape American trade policy so that it continues to support economic prosperity without leaving the most vulnerable behind. The starting point for such a policy must be to rebuild broad support for open U.S. trade and investment policies. It will require a long-term commitment by both the president and Congress to improve the education, pension, and health care systems. In the meantime, they need to work together to update the unemployment insurance and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs to reflect realities of the twenty-first century.