| Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 美國研究所 === 79 === Since 1980, American trade policy has tended toward protectionism. This trend became clearer after the passing of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, which had a great influence on international trade. This Act is characterized by the policy-making style proposed and organized by Congress, and is different from the style adopted since 1934 by the President. This change shows that the making of American trade policy has gone back to protectionism, as it was when it was mainly controlled by Congress before the 1930s.
The main reasons for the passage of this Act can be attributed to the three U.S. deficits in the 1980s: the federal deficit, the trade deficit and the current deficit, all of which reached new peaks in the middle of the 1980s. This caused the unemployment rate to increase and the competitiveness the American products to fall. Therefore, the Congress proposed several protective trade acts, one of which, the most significant was the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act.
In this Act, there were many fundamental reforms, such as adding the "Super 301"Clause and "Special 301" Clause, and renewal of the 301 Act, and enlarging the scope of "dumping", etc. These reforms caused international trade relationships among the U. S. and its trading partners to change. Through this 1988 Act, the U. S. has successfully opposed unfair foreign trade practices, and forced its trading partners to respect intellectual property rights, hence reducing the America trade deficit.
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