Orderly Marketing Agreements: Analysis of United States Automobile Industry Efforts to Obtain Import Relief

The fundamental trade policy of the United States is set forth in the Trade Act of 1974, which includes procedures for implementing import relief. Petitions for such relief are submitted to the International Trade Commission, and a recommendation is made to the President upon an affirmative finding. A negative determination by the International Trade Commission, however, presents some problems with which the Trade Act is not equipped to deal. This Note analyzes these problems in the context of the situation surrounding the importation of Japanese automobiles in 1980, in which the Commission determined that import relief was not warranted.

The author concludes that the deficiency in the Trade Act could be cured by a simple amendment allowing an intermediate finding, namely an Orderly Marketing Agreement.