Foreign Policy and International Affairs

Overview

• Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress
  This document outlines the role both the President and Congress play in making foreign policy.
  
  
• Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the U.S. Senate
  Text report that summarizes the history of the treaty making provisions of the Constitution and international and domestic law on treaties and other international agreements.
  
  
• The Case-Zablocki Act of August 12, 1972 - 1 USC 112B
  Text of the Case-Zablocki Act that requires international agreements be transmitted to Congress.
  

Historic Documents

• The Marshall Plan: Investment in Peace
  An overview of the U.S. program of assistance to the countries of Europe in the aftermath of World War II.
  
  
• The Monroe Doctrine
  In Monroe's message to Congress on December 2, 1823 he delivered a doctrine which informed the powers of the Old World that the American continents were no longer open to European colonization.
  
  
• The Truman Doctrine
  The delivery of this doctrine is often referenced as the start of the Cold War.


• Significant Events in U.S. Foreign Relations: 1900-2001
  

International Treaties and Agreements

• The U.S. and NATO: An Alliance of Purpose
  This issue of U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda examines the newly expanded NATO Alliance through a range of perspectives in articles, commentary, and references from national security experts within the administration, the Congress, and the public research and academic sectors.
  
  
• NAFTA: A Decade of Strengthening a Dynamic Relationship
  This brochure highlights the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) record on expanding trade, creating jobs, and increasing foreign direct investment in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
  
  
• Report to Congress on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
  This report describes the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Also featured are statistics on U.S. trade with the Caribbean Basin countries, as well as brief reports assessing the performance of 15 countries in complying with eligibility criteria reflecting key U.S. policy objectives.
  
  
• Report to Congress on the Operation of the Andean Trade Preference Act as Amended
  The objective of the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as amended by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication, is to promote broad-based economic development, diversify exports, consolidate democracy, and defeat the scourge of drug trafficking by providing sustainable economic alternatives. This report shows that the ATPA/ATPDEA continues to achieve this goal.
  
  
• The Impact of the Andean Trade Preference Act-11th Report 2004
  This document reports on the impact of the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) on U.S. industries and consumers.
  
  
• Coordination, Reporting and Publication of International Agreements
  Guidelines for coordinating, reporting on, and publishing international agreements from the Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Department of State.
  
  
• Treaties in Force 2010
  A list of treaties and other international agreements of the United States.
  
  
• Biological Weapons Treaties
  Narrative, full text and signatory list of the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction."
  
  
• The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
  Text of the treaty in its entirety
  
  
• A World Free of Nuclear Weapons
  Since the first atomic bombs exploded in 1945, some have tried to rid the world of nuclear weapons. President Obama has embraced this goal with new vigor. This 2010 issue of eJournal USA examines the challenges to achieving nuclear disarmament. It conveys the hopes of some thinkers, and explains the doubts of others.
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• Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  Text of the document.
  
  
• Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol
  Report issued by Congressional Research Service providing background and major provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.
  
  
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  Full text of the convention.
  
  
• North Atlantic Treaty of 1949
  Full Text of North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 1949 (NATO) signed in Washington, D.C. April 4, 1949.
  
  
• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
  Full text of the resolution outlining the protection of literature and art.
  
  
• World Intellectual Property Organization: Performances and Phonograms Treaty
  Full text of the Performances and Phonograms Treaty from the World Intellectual Property Organization.
  
  
• World Intellectual Property Organization: Copyright Treaty
  Full text of the document of the Copyright Treaty from the World Intellectual Property Organization.
  
  
• Universal Copyright Convention
  Full text of the Universal Copyright Convention.
  
  
• Addressing the Challenges of International Bribery and Fair Competition
  This report reviews the progress of signatory countries in implementing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Antibribery Convention).
  
  
• Researching International Legal Issues
  A guide on resources and strategies for researching international legal issues. Provided courtesy of Joan Sherer.
  
  

International Trade

• The Pros and Cons of Pursuing Free-Trade Agreements
  Article from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office that briefly presents reasons for and against the pursuit of free-trade agreements.
  
  
• The Year in Trade 2009: Operation of the Trade Agreements Program
  This report is one of the principal means by which the U.S. International Trade Commission provides Congress with factual information on trade policy and its administration.
  
  
• The National Export Strategy: The Administration's Trade Promotion Agenda
  This report from the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) outlines the Administration's trade promotion policy.
  
  
• The 2010 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
  This report is the twenty-fifth in an annual series that surveys significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports.
  
  
• The Future of U.S. Trade Policy: An Analysis of Issues and Options for the 111th Congress
  
  
  
• 2010 Trade Policy Agenda and 2009 Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program
  This report outlines the Administration's guiding trade principles and priorities, and reviews the major trade policy developments.
  
  
• U.S. Trade and Investment with Sub-Saharan Africa
  This report documents U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) trade and investment flows.
  
  
• U.S. Trade and Investment Relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa: The African Growth and Opportunity Act
  This 2009 CRS report discusses U.S. trade and investment policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
  
  
• U.S. International Trade: Data and Forecasts
  This report analyzes U.S. trade balances and provides comparative trade statistics. It also discusses recent developments in, and forecasts for, U.S. merchandise.
  
  
• International Electronic Commerce: Definitions and Policy Implications
  This report provides information on emerging issues regarding international electronic commerce (IEC).
  
  
• North American Free Trade Agreement between the Government of Canada, the Government of the United Mexican States, and the Government of the United States of America
  Table of contents for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that provides links to the full text.
  
  
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
  Full text of the World Trade Agreement of 1994, which established the World Trade Organization, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
  
  
• An Overview of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)
  A comprehensive text overview of the TRIPS Agreement.


• Challenges of Globalization
  This 2006 eJournal discusses globalization from several different perspectives.
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International Aid and Development

• International Development Goals Moving Forward
  This journal provides a glance at some of the individual U.S. development projects throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America that seek to address the key objectives of the Millennium Declaration: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality and improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
  
  
• Improving Lives: Military Humanitarian and Assistance Programs
  This report describes the historical evolution of military foreign assistance training and humanitarian assistance programs, and the purpose they play in fostering regional and national security while enhancing global relations.
  
  
• Protecting Lives, Restoring Livelihoods: The U.S. Program To Remove Landmines
  This issue of U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda illustrates the challenges of global mine action, and highlights America's extensive record of cooperation, consensus-building, and leadership in the international effort to end the landmine tragedy.
  
  
• Transforming the Culture of Corruption
  This issue of eJournal USA highlights the important roles that the public sector, private sector, and non-governmental organizations play in eradicating corruption worldwide.
  
  
• Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy
  This 2009 CRS report provides an overview of the U.S. foreign aid program by addressing a number of the more frequently asked questions regarding the subject.
  
  
• Foreign Commerce and Aid
  This report presents data on the flow of goods, services, and capital between the United States and other countries; changes in official reserve assets of the United States; international investments; and foreign assistance programs.
  
  
• Transformational Diplomacy: Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2007-2012: U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development.
  
  
• Millennium Challenge Account: A New Compact for Global Development     
  Provides links to articles, commentary, facts and figures, and information resources regarding the Millenium Challenge Account. 
  
  
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation
  A short description of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and its role to administer the money earmarked for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) - in which development assistance would be provided to those countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom.
  
  
• Foreign Aid in the National Interest: Promoting Freedom, Security and Opportunity
  This report discusses foreign assistance as a key instrument of U.S. foreign policy. It addresses six issues of development assistance: promoting democratic governance, driving economic growth, improving people's health, mitigating conflict, providing humanitarian aid, and accounting for private foreign aid.
  
  
• Responses to Human Trafficking
  The articles in this electronic journal explain the scope of human trafficking -- an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people every year across the globe.
  
  
• Ending Abusive Child Labor
  An electronic journal that describes the commitments being made by governments, nongovernmental organizations, and industry to eradicate the worst forms of child labor with a special emphasis on eliminating child labor in mining.
  
  
• The Role of Think Tanks in U.S. Foreign Policy
  This issue of the electronic journal U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda examines the unique role played by public policy research organizations, or "think tanks," in the formulation of U.S. policy.
  
  
• American Internationalism
  This electronic journal contains articles on the U.S.'s goal of promoting freedom, democracy, free trade and development throughout the world.


• Rethinking International Aid
  This 2007 eJournal USA offers leading thinkers' explanations of how the United States and other nations wrestle with the myriad issues surrounding international aid and development.


• Governance and Growth
  The link between stable, honest government and economic prosperity is being recognized increasingly around the globe by governments, private sector leaders, and entrepreneurs. Voices from all these quarters are heard in this 2009 edition of eJournal USA.


• U.S. Food Aid Reducing World Hunger
  This 2007 eJournal describes some of the ways in which the United States government works through its agencies and in conjunction with international organizations and NGOs to provide food and assistance to save lives and to help hungry people feed themselves.


• Lifesaving Vaccines
  This 2007 eJournal describes how the United States and international partners have been working together for more than 30 years to expand the benefits of vaccines to children everywhere.