Congress may vote on continuing U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005.

• Every five years, Congress may vote during the 90-day period starting March 1 to terminate its approval of the WTO agreement by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval.
• The international trade rules now in the WTO agreement are a major reason the global economy has grown more in the past 60 years than at any other time in history. The United States designed most of the WTO rules and, as the world’s largest exporter, is a primary beneficiary of those rules.
• Adoption of a joint resolution of disapproval would have no effect on U.S. laws implementing the WTO agreement, but the economic and political effects would be significant. If the United States is perceived to be abandoning the WTO, then many countries may quickly ignore the WTO rules, resulting in a decline of U.S. exports and damage to America’s international reputation.
• The WTO has contributed to U.S. economic success. Since the establish-ment of the WTO in 1994, American exports of goods and services have risen by more than $300 billion as a result of lowered trade barriers.
• The increased trade resulting from the WTO agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has increased the annual income of an average American family by $1,000 to $1,300.

The United States will continue to benefit from its membership in the WTO.

• With more than 95 percent of the world’s population and four-fifths of the world’s economy outside its borders, the United States needs to compete in overseas markets to fuel economic growth and sustain job creation at home. In the past decade, exports accounted for more than one-fourth of U.S. economic growth and supported an estimated 12 million American jobs.
• The WTO is the most effective forum in which the United States can reduce foreign trade barriers and establish international rules for fair trade. WTO membership enlarges access to worldwide markets for U.S. goods and services providers, raises living standards, and provides American consumers more choices at competitive prices.
• Membership in the WTO strengthens America’s competitiveness in agri-culture, manufacturing and service industries; expands the rule of law in commerce; and stimulates research and innovation through protection of intellectual property rights.