GAO OUTLINES U.S. MONITORING OF CHINA’s WTO COMPLIANCE

GAO OUTLINES U.S. MONITORING OF CHINAÆS WTO COMPLIANCE    The U.S. Government Accounting Office has outlined in a report to Congress the federal government’s response to monitoring China’s World Trade Organization membership.
   China became a WTO member in December 2001. This created new opportunities for U.S. companies seeking to do business in China.
   To monitor China’s compliance with the WTO mandates, Congress has provided increased funds to increase the federal government’s ability to monitor and enforce China’s compliance.
   The GAO report, released on March 31, found the U.S. Trade Representative and the departments of Agriculture, Commerce and State have:
   * Reorganized or created intra-agency teams to coordinate their oversight of China’s compliance.
   * Increased staff from 28 to 53 in key operations in Washington and China in 2000-2002.
   * Reflected these changes in the agencies’ recent performance and strategic plans.
   USTR is also leading a inter-agency group that relies on input from the private sector to monitor China’s WTO progress.
   However, the GAO report found problems with China’s WTO compliance in two key areas:
   * China’s failure to grant market access to certain bulk agricultural commodities.
   * Disagreement among WTO members over how to conduct comprehensive annual reviews of China’s trade policies.