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- U.S. Trade Rep Proposes Tariff-free World Trade by 2015
The United States announced in late November a proposal calling on members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to eliminate all tariffs on consumer and industrial goods by 2015, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
This proposal, combined with the U.S. agricultural reform proposal submitted to the WTO in July, would eliminate tariffs on the nearly $6 trillion in annual world goods trade, lifting the economic fortunes of workers, families, businesses, and consumers, according to the USTR. These two proposals call on all WTO members to advance free trade and complete the tariff-cutting work that began more than 50 years ago.
In July, the United States put forward a comprehensive agricultural trade reform proposal, calling for elimination of export subsidies, cuts of $100 billion in annual allowed global trade-distorting domestic subsidies, and lowering average allowed global tariffs from 62% to 15%. The United States also proposed that WTO members agree to a specific date for elimination of agricultural tariffs and domestic support.
“Our (tariff-free) proposal would turn every corner store in America into a duty-free shop for working families, “said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. “This historic proposal would benefit the average American family of four with an extra $1,600 a year, while also removing high foreign tariff barriers on more than $670 billion in U.S. industrial and consumer goods exports. Globally, tariff-free trade could help lift millions of people in developing countries out of poverty.”
“President Bush believes that American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses must have more than just the ability to compete globally, they must also have the opportunity to do so,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans. “This proposal says that ‘no one wins unless we all win’ and ensures a level playing field for America’s goods and ingenuity to compete fairly around the world.”
The U.S. proposal would require WTO members cut and harmonize their tariffs in the five-year period from 2005 to 2010. Specifically, WTO members would eliminate all tariffs at or below 5% by 2010, cut all other tariffs through a “tariff equalizer” formula to less than 8% by 2010, and eliminate tariffs in certain highly traded industry sectors as soon as possible, but not later than 2010. Remaining tariffs must be cut by 2015.
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