MFN Relations with Communist Countries: Is the Two-Decade Old System Working, or Should It Be Revised or Repealed?

Most Favored Nation ('MEN") trade status has been a cornerstone of U.S. trade policy since 1934, and it is extended to all nations except those specifically denied MFN status by U.S. law. Since 1934, the United States has used MFN status as leverage to further U.S. national security and foreign policy goals, and on a few occasions, has used it as a tool to obtain trade concessions.