INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY: * Since the end of World War II, U.S. policy has generally supported the liberalization of international trade. * The United States has pursued the objective of trade liberalization primarily by joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later the World Trade Organization (WTO). * In recent years, however, the United States and other countries have also begun to negotiate free-trade agreements (FTAs). Like the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trade agreements: * Trade agreements help open markets and expand opportunities for American workers and businesses and can help your company enter and compete more easily in the global marketplace. * Trade agreements are also a tool for promoting fair competition and encouraging foreign governments to adopt open and transparent rulemaking procedures as well as non-discriminatory laws and regulations. * Trade agreements can strengthen the business climate by including commitments on issues of concern along with the reduction and elimination of tariffs. Trade agreements may include commitments on topics such as:

* Improving intellectual property right protection * Enhancing labor rights * Government procurement * Opening service sectors to competition * Enhancing rules on foreign investment * Environmental standards * Improving customs facilitation
The United States is party to many bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade agreements. Countries with which the U.S. has active bi-lateral trade agreements include: Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Peru, Oman, and Singapore. The active multi-lateral trade agreements that the U.S. has signed include the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). The U.S. is also party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, overseen by the WTO) along with 152 other countries. U.S. trade