Foreign Tariff Reductions and California Exports

Publication Date: June 2003

Publisher: Public Policy Institute of California

Author(s): Jon D. Haveman

Research Area: Trade

Type: Report

Coverage: California

Abstract:

The federal government is working energetically on a broad array of trade liberalization agreements, but the potential effects of these agreements on California firms are not well known. This report estimates the export expansions that would result from each agreement on the current agenda. It also identifies the sources of California’s recent export growth, estimates California’s exports gains if worldwide tariffs were eliminated completely, and details the differences between California’s trade liberalization interests and those of the rest of the nation. Because new trade policies are likely to be more consequential for California than for other states, California’s firms, policymakers, and congressional delegation should weigh the report’s key findings when working with U.S. trade officials.