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The New Section 301 Of The Omnibus Trade And Competitiveness Act Of 1988, Steven R. Phillips

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the changes brought about in United States trade policy by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Mr. Phillips provides a detailed history of the evolution of the Act's three main revisions of section 301: the transfer from the President to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) of the power to identify foreign unfair trade practices and to take action in response; the imposition of mandatory retaliation by the USTR against unfair trade practices unless one of six exceptions applies; and, under the "Super 301" provision, the USTR's obligation to identify unfair trade balances and either …