Doctoral Dissertation Research: Spatial and Institutional Approaches to Governing U.S. International Trade: A Case Study of Section 301

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

First introduced as part of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 (and amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and in the Uruguay Round Agreements Acts of 1994, Section 301 provides the opportunity for interested parties to charge other nations with unfair trading practices by filing a petition with the U.S. Trade Representative's office. This doctoral dissertation research project will constitute a descriptive, explanatory, and institutional analyses ofthe disposition of Section 301 cases since the legislation's inception, and it will evaluate both industry and government views of the effectiveness of Section 301, not only in terms of the outcomes of individual cases, but also in terms of its larger impact on global trade. By examining not only the geographic implications of trade policies as reflected in Section 301 cases, this project also will explore the geographic context within which trade policy is developed, enacted, and operationalized. The research will consist of two components. Descriptive and explanatory analyses of Section 301 cases from 1975 to 2001 will provide the basis for analysis of the patterns of Section 301 cases in terms of their evolution over time, the countries and regions targeted, the types of "unfair" practices cited, the economic sectors involved, the types of complainant, and case outcomes. These descriptive analyses will be augmented by chi-square analyses and refinement of a explanatory multinomial logit model aimed at identifying the factors that have influenced the success or failure of Section 301 cases. The second part of the project will consist of interviews with key informants in the USTR's office and with three trade associations that have been active in Section 301 cases. Emphasis will be placed on identification of the processes that led to decisions to file Section 301 petitions and reports, the associations' and the USTR's views of the policy, the USTR's selection of cases for prosecution, and the interactions between the associations and the USTR. Archival research will complement the semi-structured interviews with staff and officers of the associations and the USTR's office. This project will produce the first extensive examination of the geographic, temporal, and sectoral characteristics of Section 301 cases as well as the dynamics between those and other characteristics. The project should result in the most comprehensive and current analyses of the outcomes of Section 301 cases as well as the case-specific and structural factors that explain Section 301 case success. These kinds of analyses should enhance understandings of the ways that trade policies like Section 301 affect on the magnitude and direction of trade, then we need to know under what conditions those effects are manifested. The project should help clarify what role policies like Section 301 play in the larger geography of trade, especially the ways that these policies define what constitutes "unfair" practices. More generally, the project will contribute toward broader economic geographic understandings of the ways that institutions, policies, and trade interact with each other. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.