Legal Foundations of U.S. Trade Policy

*Law Library of Congress Reading Room Copy of the U.S. Statutes at Large.* March 12, 2013. This image was featured in *In Custodia Legis,* the blog of the Law Library of Congress.

Each branch of the U.S. government contributes to U.S. trade policy.

Legislative Branch

The U.S. Congress, the legislative body of the government, advises (e.g. sets trade negotiation objectives), provides oversight, monitors, and legislates U.S. trade policy.

Executive Branch

The Executive Branch sets an agenda for trade policy, negotiates U.S. trade agreements (directly with foreign governments with input from Congress, business groups, and public interest groups), provides guidance on the implementation of the laws with the issue of regulations, makes decisions on import relief cases and national security cases, monitors the enforcement of trade agreements, and works to resolve trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Judicial Branch

The U.S. courts make decisions on specific cases, which provides case law.

Framework of U.S. Trade Policy

The following table illustrates and helps to explain the framework of U.S. trade policy.

Branch of Government	Participant	Format of U.S. Trade Policy
Legislature	U.S. Congress	Creates U.S. Statutes at Large (chronologically) U.S. Code (by topic) Sets trade negotiation objectives Monitors and advises
Executive	U.S.Trade Representative Customs State Department International Trade Commission (USITC) Other agencies	Negotiates trade agreements Issues Federal Regulations: C.F.R. (compiled) Publishes the Federal Register (proposed, recent regulations) Issues policy documents ITC: (quasi-judicial) – investigatory responsibilities; adjudications
Judicial	Courts	Decides cases, creates case law

U.S. Law Primary Sources

Included in this, and the following sections below, are the primary source documents that provide legal basis for U.S. trade policy, in both print and electronic form. Print titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital versions are provided when available.

United States Statutes at Large by National Archives and Records Administration
Call Number: KF50.U5
Published/Created: 1937-
U.S. laws are compiled chronologically as the U.S. Statutes at Large, and by topic in the U.S. Code. A bulk of trade policy related law is included in Title 19 (Customs Duties), as well as Titles 7 (Agriculture), 12 (Banks and Banking), 15 (Commerce and Trade), 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), and 22 (Foreign Relations and Intercourse), although more than half of the titles have some trade policy related law. U.S. laws can be found in the Law Library of Congress.

U.S. Statutes at Large Online
U.S. Statutes at Large can be searched by public law number, date of enactment, bill number, popular name, statutes at large citation, and U.S. code citation. Legislative history is also available.
U.S. Code Online
A list of chapters for U.S. Code Title 19, and names of other selected U.S. Code chapters are provided below.

Title 19 of the U.S. Code

Direct links to the chapters of Title 19 (Customs Duties - 19 U.S.C.) are provided below from the U.S. House version of the United States Code online.

Titles 7, 12, 15, 18, and 22 of the U.S. Code

The links below also go the U.S. House version of the United States Code. Selected chapter headings related to U.S. trade policy are provided for reference. Often a more narrow part of the code—a section is referenced within a chapter, which is within a title. For reference to other topics, use the easily accessible search function. There are also many domestic programs which provide subsidies that may affect trade.

7 U.S.C. Agriculture
Chapter 1 Commodity Exchanges (including foreign exchange swaps, regulation of foreign transactions)
Chapter 25 Export Standards for Apples
Chapter 15a Export Standards for Grapes and Plums
Chapter 26 Agriculture Adjustment (inclusive of import prohibitions of specified foreign produce)
Chapter 35 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (inclusive of import quotas)
Chapter 35a Price Support
Chapter 39 Stabilization of International Wheat Market
Chapter 41 Food for Peace
Chapter 43 Foreign Market Development
Chapter 56 Unfair Trade Practices Affecting Producers of Agriculture Products
Chapter 66 Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure
Chapter 67 Implementation of International Sugar Agreement, 1977
Chapter 71 Agriculture Trade Suspension Adjustment
Chapter 75 International Carriage of Perishable Food Stuffs
Chapter 83 Agriculture Competitiveness and Trade
Chapter 87 Export Promotion
12 U.S.C. Banks and Banking
Chapter 6 Foreign Banking
Chapter 6a Export-Import Bank of the United States
Chapter 32 Foreign Bank Participation in Domestic Markets
Chapter 40 International Lending Supervision
15 U.S.C. Commerce and Trade
Chapter 2 Federal Trade Commission; Promotion of Export Trade and the and Prevention of Unfair Methods of Competition (including investigation of foreign trade conditions)
Chapter 3 Trade Marks
Chapter 4 China Trade
Chapter 22 Trademarks
Chapter 40 Department of Commerce
Chapter 66 Promotion of Export Trade
Chapter 73 Export Enhancement
Chapter 74 Competitiveness Policy Council
Chapter 75 National Trade Data Bank
Chapter 88 International Antitrust Enforcement Assistance
Chapter 107 Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
18 U.S.C. Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Part I Chapter 27 Customs
22 U.S.C. Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Chapter 21 Settlement of International Claims
Chapter 21A Settlement of Investment Disputes
Chapter 36 Arms Export Control
Chapter 46 International Investment and Trade in Services Survey
Chapter 46a Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data
Chapter 62 International Financial Policy

The print titles below link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital versions are provided when available.

Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes by Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
Call Number: KF1975.A29 U55
Published/Created: 1987-
Known as the Trade Blue Book, the Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes includes not only an overview of the major provisions of Federal law pertaining to the conduct of U.S. international trade, but also an up-to-date statutory text of trade laws, integrating separate acts of Congress into one volume.
Code of Federal Regulations by Division of the Federal Register, the National Archives
Call Number: KF70.A3 1949
Published/Created: 1949-
CFR "is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government", sometimes referred to as administrative law. CFR titles are similar to those in the U.S.C. referenced above. Title 19 regulations provide information about customs procedures, as well as the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission, U.S. trade agreements, preferential trade agreements, former negotiating authorities and objectives, quotas, tariff rate quotas, and many other aspects of U.S. trade policy. Almost half of the titles (25 of the 54 titles) refer to international trade or trade policy, so it is advised to search by specific topics.

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis."
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell University) External
eCFR from Cornell's Legal Information Institute can also serve as good reference source.
Case Law External
Legal research is not the focus here, but one source to locate cases is case law. One can use the pre-set category, "International Trade", or use specific topics.

Related Print Publications

These resources will help understand the history of U.S. trade policy, how it is shaped, as well as current trade policy agenda and its review by WTO. The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Free Trade Under Fire by Douglas A. Irwin
Call Number: Electronic Resource
ISBN: 9780691203362
Published/Created: 2020
Available onsite via Stacks.
An updated look at global trade and why it remains as controversial as ever Free trade is always under attack, more than ever in recent years. The imposition of numerous U.S. tariffs in 2018, and the retaliation those tariffs have drawn, has thrust trade issues to the top of the policy agenda. Critics contend that free trade brings economic pain, including plant closings and worker layoffs, and that trade agreements serve corporate interests, undercut domestic environmental regulations, and erode national sovereignty. Why are global trade and agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership so controversial? Does free trade deserve its bad reputation? In Free Trade under Fire, Douglas Irwin sweeps aside the misconceptions that run rampant in the debate over trade and gives readers a clear understanding of the issues involved. In its fifth edition, the book has been updated to address the sweeping new policy developments under the Trump administration and the latest research on the impact of trade.
Fundamentals of U. S. Foreign Trade Policy by Stephen D. Cohen; Robert A. Blecker; Peter D. Whitney
Call Number: HF1455 .C5758 2003
ISBN: 0813340276
Published/Created: 2002
Table of contents
This book presents a well-rounded view of the nature and impact of trade policy as well as how it is made. First, it provides a quick review of the history of U.S. trade policy and follow this with an explication of key economic principles and theories. Then it outlines political processes and actors, and examine the laws that emanate from the political arena as they apply to imports, exports, the GATT, and the World Trade Organization. A final section combines the three perspectives in an analysis of key challenges to contemporary U.S. trade. Looking toward the future, the authors conclude that given constant changes in the political, economic, and legal environments of trade, the import and export policies of the United States (and of most other countries) are subject to constant evolution-and occasional revolution.
Trade Policy Agenda & Annual Report of the President by Office of the United States Trade Representative. Washington, D.C. : Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Call Number: HF1731 .A42
Published/Created: 1989-
Past years available online from Hathi Trust External
Latest edition online
Annually, the U.S. Trade Representative Office in collaboration with other departments produces a trade policy agenda of the President and a report on the trade agreement program.
Trade policy review. The United States of America. by General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
Call Number: HF 1455.T654
Published/Created: 1989-
The World Trade Organization (WTO) reviews members' trade policy on a schedule based on the ranking in the world of a country's trade flows. The world's largest four traders are reviewed every two years, which includes the United States. A set of documents, one document by the WTO secretariat and another by the government being reviewed, are prepared for the Trade Policy Review body at the WTO. A number of documents are created by the review such as minutes of the meeting, chairperson's closing remarks, and answers to questions not addressed at the meeting.
The latest review is available online. External
U. S. Trade Issues by Alfred E. Eckes
Call Number: HF1455 .E35 2009
ISBN: 9781598841992
Published/Created: 2009
An expert analysis of key issues, individuals, and developments in U.S. trade policy from national, regional, and global perspectives. Includes biographical sketches of key figures responsible for shaping U.S. trade policy, including elected government officials, economists, and activists. Also included is a data and documents chapter of statistics from the U.S. government and the World Trade Organization showing patterns of merchandise, invisible trade, and imbalances.
U. S. Trade Policy: History, Theory, and the WTO by William A. Lovett; Richard L. Brinkman; Alfred E. Eckes, Jr
Call Number: HF1455 .L66 2004
ISBN: 0765613077
Published/Created: 2004
This fully updated edition of the text covers U.S. trade policy from colonial times to the current controversial trade imbalances affecting long-term national interests. New coverage for this edition includes the WTO panels and conflicts, the battle in Seattle, struggles over Doha rounds and conflicts, growing tensions among major powers, splits between advanced and developing nations, increased terrorism, and risks of war.

U.S. Trade Policy: A Research Guide