Agencies responsible for various aspects of trade conducted by the United States have been under increasing pressure since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Several different agencies are responsible for handling different aspects of America’s trading policy. These responsibilities range from providing security to negotiating trade agreements.
The shifting trade environment, especially the growing importance of China on the world stage, requires monitoring and enforcing existing trade agreements and laws while simultaneously negotiating a number of new agreements.
GAO has concluded that the responsibilities have seriously stretched the personnel in these agencies. Its new report concludes that the trade agencies have to constantly monitor and update their “human capital strategies” to
ensure that they are closely linked to the strategic goals of the agencies.
You can download the entire report from the link on the left hand side of this page.
