A decade seems a long time in trade policy

The US Trade Policy is annually well laid out in a document titled the US Trade Policy Agenda and the Annual Report. The US Trade Policy Agenda 2020 is found here.A clear understanding of the direction, drift and focus of the US in trade policy can be gathered here.

I was curious to know how the US trade policy agenda has been shaped over the past decade especially with respect to the WTO.

So here are a few snippets from the latest trade agenda and the principal thrust of US policy towards the WTO in 2020:

1. Questioning the role of the Appellate Body and its functioning - a special report by the USTR can be found here.
2. Seeking a new multilateral fisheries agreement
3. Exploring an ecommerce agreement
4. Pushing for more transparency
5. Relooking at the Special and Differential treatment in current and future negotiations
6. Resetting the tariff commitments of WTO members because of changed economic circumstances

Thats a full-fledged agenda for the next decade.

What did the 2011 Report, a decade ago, view the WTO's future?

The 2011 Report looked very different from the latest one in 2020 with a lot on the Doha Development Agenda round of negotiations (page 3-4).

The United States will continue to play a leadership role and work with other WTO Members in various configurations, including bilateral negotiations with advanced developing countries, in pursuit of a successful conclusion to the Doha Round that opens new markets and creates new trade flows. The challenge in 2011 will continue to be how to translate the expressions of political will into concrete and specific details that will enable WTO Members to complete the work begun with the launch of negotiations at the Doha Ministerial.

Obviously some of these changes are a reflection of the developments and changed scenarios. 

A decade in international trade and trade policy can see a sea change!