Chemical Industry Prepares for New Round of Trade Negotiations

Abstract

Now that the elections are over and President will be returning to the White House for another four years, trade officials in the chemical industry are wondering if they will have to start preparing for a Reagan of multilateral trade negotiations. Such a possibility is already being actively considered in several chemical industry forums—among them the Chemical Manufacturers Association, Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, and Office of the Chemical Industry Trade Advisor. It's no secret that the Administration is pushing for a new round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) that would be held under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT). The last major round of GATT trade discussions—the Tokyo round—ended five years ago. Results of the Tokyo round, which dragged on from 1973 to 1979, are still being implemented. Administration trade officials, nevertheless, think it's time to start looking ahead to a new round of trade ...