Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Since the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), situated within the Executive Office of the President, negotiates international frameworks with other nations, it is a good resource for treaty-related research. As noted in the Treaty Research discussion above, its trade agreements site provides the text of both bilateral and multilateral treaties governing trade; since the texts of bilateral treaties are typically more difficult to locate than those of multilateral treaties, the site is a particularly useful resource for information concerning trade and investment treaties between the U.S. and particular nations.
The USTR also maintains a site particular to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which entered into force in 2020. However, as of Spring 2023 the site features little content, and links typically redirect back to the agreement page housed on the office’s free trade agreements site. Additional information concerning the USMCA and its predecessor agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is provided in a subsequent section of this guide.
Researchers seeking basic information concerning the U.S. trade relationship with particular nations might wish to consult its Countries & Regions page. For each country discussed, the office provides a summary of recent import and export volumes for that country, and information concerning trade agreements between that country and the U.S.
The USTR also provides recent agency reports on its site that may be valuable to researchers, as they contain country- and agreement-specific information submitted annually to the president and Congress. To locate these publications, select “News,” and for content from the last three years “Reports and Publications.” Additional content dating back to 2001 is available from the USTR Archives.
