Bilateral Trade Affairs
The State Department's Office of Bilateral Trade Affairs (BTA) works to promote open markets between the United States and its trading partners. Increased international opportunities for U.S. trade and investment are essential to sustaining U.S. economic growth, creating jobs, and increasing economic wealth for all our citizens. The Office of Bilateral Trade Affairs ensures that the overall foreign policy goals of the U.S. Government are factored into the development of U.S. trade policy. The Office of Bilateral Trade Affairs, together with the other offices within the Trade Policy and Programs division, represents the Department of State on delegations to negotiations with regional economic groupings including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It also represents the Department in ongoing trade negotiations including those aimed at establishing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and bilateral free trade agreements, including those now ongoing with Thailand, Panama, the Andean nations, and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). BTA also represents the department in interagency discussions of U.S. steel policy. Within the U.S. Government executive branch, BTA represents the State Department in trade policy meetings on bilateral and regional trade issues with other U.S. Government agencies including the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) , the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Treasury. These issues include the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) , and the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The office works with USTR and other U.S. Government agencies on issues relating to the accession of new members of the World Trade Organization. The Office of Bilateral Trade Affairs is divided into two regional divisions: Asia, Near East and Africa (ANA) and Europe and the Western Hemisphere (EWH). |
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