Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA)

The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) seeks to bolster the competitiveness of American companies through changes in the substance and process of trade law. Although building on earlier legislation, this most recent major trade law addresses a far broader scope of issues, more forcefully asserts the interests of American firms, and provides executive branch officials with much less discretion in implementation.

Although the United States has championed the cause of free trade through multilateral agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), concerns about the competitiveness of American workers and companies mounted in the 1980s with the rapid emergence of Japan as an economic power, growing trade deficits, and job losses in manufacturing. Constituent pressures ...