U.S. Trade Preference Programs: Lessons from Europe from the U.S. Struggle to Get It Right (2010). Laura Baughman, President of The Trade Partnership, provides a detailed analysis of the U.S. preference program and offers recommendations to EU policy makers as they consider how implementing the Treaty of Lisbon will work in practice on trade matters. Among other changes, the Lisbon Treaty gives the European Parliament the power to approve or reject trade policy decisions. These changes may bring the European trade policy process closer to the highly political American model, where Congress drafts and regularly changes the details of U.S. trade preference programs.

The report, prepared for The German Marshall Fund, can be downloaded here.

The U.S. Generalized System of Preferences Program: An Integral Part of the U.S. Economy (1997; updated in 2010). This report details the history of the program, how it runs on a day-to-day basis, the major users of the program and the products that benefit from it the most. The study was prepared for the Coalition for GSP.



Unilateral Preferential Trade Programs Offered by the United States, the European Union, and Canada: A Comparison (2008). This paper compares preference programs offered by major developed countries. It highlights the complex rules that limit developing country usage and offers U.S. policymakers suggestions for changes that would improve the U.S. preference programs. Click here for a copy of the report.



Estimated Impacts of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences to U.S. Industry and Consumers (2006). This study examines the impacts of GSP from the U.S. perspective. It finds that while GSP is an important tool to promote economic development in poor countries, it also improves American competitiveness. The study was prepared for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Click here for a copy of the report.


African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation Guide (2000). The Trade Partnership prepared this reference book in conjunction with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to inform companies and countries interested in sourcing goods from sub-Saharan Africa about the provisions and operation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Copies may be obtained from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative or downloaded here.