Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act
House Science, Space and Technology, House Ways and Means on 23 August 1988 |
The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 is an
.History
During the 1970s, the U.S.
The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act started as an amendment proposed by Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO) to order the Executive branch to thoroughly examine trade with countries that have large trade surpluses with the United States. If the trade surpluses continued, the offending country would be faced with a bilateral surplus-reduction requirement of 10%. Because of its style of zero-sum game thought, it is considered by economists to be a modern form of mercantilism.
Expiration
The act was signed into law by President Reagan, slightly less strict than proposed, as the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. It expired in 1991 and was not renewed until 1994 by President Bill Clinton. It again expired in 1997 and was renewed once more by Clinton in 1999, and was followed by the Trade Act of 2002.
See also
- Trade Act of 2002
- Currency manipulator
- Exon-Florio Amendment
References
- Appleyard, Dennis R, Alfred J Field and Steven L. Cobb. International Economics. McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2006
- Cass, Ronald A. "Velvet Fist in an Iron Glove: The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988" Regulation, Winter 1991.
External links
- Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 as amended (PDF/details) in the GPO Statute Compilations collection
- Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 as enacted (details) in the US Statutes at Large
