Zhodnocení obchodní politiky Spojených států amerických na základě vývoje zahraničního obchodu s vybranými zeměmi

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis examines the trade policy of the United States of America and its reflection in the development of foreign trade with selected countries. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate U.S. trade policy on the basis of bilateral trade flows in goods between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Germany, China and Japan. The theoretical part defines the main approaches to international trade, the instruments of trade policy, the multilateral trading system and the current context of new protectionism. The following part focuses on the legal, institutional and historical development of U.S. trade policy, including the transformation of its instruments towards more selective and enforcement-oriented measures. The empirical part is based on a comparative analysis of annual value data on trade in goods in the period 2010–2024. The analysis examines overall balances of trade in goods and selected commodity groups at the HS4 level in relation to relevant trade policy frameworks, particularly the USMCA agreement, measures under Section 232, measures under Section 301 and Chinese retaliatory measures. The results show that the effects of U.S. trade policy were not uniform, but differed according to country, commodity group and direction of trade flow. The most significant change was identified in U.S. exports of soybeans to China, whereas the results in the other analysed cases were less clear-cut. The thesis also shows that negative balances of trade in goods with selected partners functioned primarily as a political argument for a more restrictive trade policy, rather than as an indicator that was systematically reduced by the adopted measures.