International Trade Law News

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) recently introduced S. RES. 459, a resolution calling for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to decrease tariffs on manufactured goods. The resolution states that the "substantial differences in average bound industrial tariff rates among" WTO members has resulted in "vast inequities in the multilateral trading system, placing American companies and workers at a disadvantage." According to Senator Bayh, the average WTO-established rate of tariffs that foreign countries place on manufactured goods coming from the U.S. is nearly 40%. By contrast, the resolution states that the U.S. has a simple average bound tariff rate of 3.2% for industrial goods, with 38.5% of industrial tariff lines providing for duty-free treatment.