Initiatives such as this demonstrate U.S. resolve to grant enhanced market access to facilitate developing countries' integration into the global economy. At the end of last month, the General Agreement on Trade in Services meeting in Geneva finalized its roadmap and timetable for the services negotiations. They will complete the technical negotiations by next March, and the United States has submitted proposals on several services areas not covered before, such as energy and express delivery. The WTO negotiations on agriculture are moving forward as well. Last week, the United States tabled a proposal for eliminating tariffs and reforming subsidies in the agricultural sector.
Members have until the end of the year to submit negotiating proposals.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duty policy has been the subject of much criticism by WTO members recently. The United States understands the concerns, but when used correctly, in a legal and transparent manner, anti-dumping can be an important policy tool that makes the trading system more fair and free. Anti-dumping is used by many countries, among both developed and developing economies, as a policy tool. As you can see, it affects only a small percent of total trade, but still has an important role to play. By reassuring the fairness of the trading system, countries can maintain support for increased trade liberalization, which benefits us all.