Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from August 2003

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from August 2003

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), free trade, and the 2003 Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
August 1, 2003... Summary On October 20-21, 2003, the Eleventh APEC Leader's Meeting (informal summit) is to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. It is to be preceded by meetings of senior officials from member countries, a CEO summit of business leaders, and the...

Drug control: international policy and approaches.
August 3, 2003... SUMMARY Efforts to significantly reduce the flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States have so far not succeeded. Moreover, over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and...

Trade negotiations in the 108th Congress.
August 3, 2003... SUMMARY On June 6, 2003, the United States signed a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) with Chile. A month earlier, the United States had signed a bilateral FTA with Singapore. On July 15, 2003, implementing bills for the FTAs...

China-U.S. trade issues.
August 4, 2003... SUMMARY U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past several years. Total U.S.-China trade rose from $5 billion in 1980 to $147 billion in 2002. China is now the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner. With a huge...

Iraq: U.S. military operations.
August 4, 2003... Summary Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs, together with Iraqi long-range missile development and support for terrorism, are the primary justifications put forward for military action. On March 17, 2003 President...

Pakistan: chronology of events.(Calendar)
August 4, 2003... Summary This report provides a reverse chronology of major events involving Pakistan and Pakistan-U.S. relations from September 2001. (1) For a substantive review of Pakistan-U.S. relations, see CRS Issue Brief IB94041, Pakistan-U.S....

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
August 4, 2003... SUMMARY Key areas of U.S. concern regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; weapons proliferation; the ongoing Kashmir dispute and Pakistan-India tensions; human rights protection; and economic development. A U.S.-Pakistan...

Saudi Arabia: current issues and U.S. relations.
August 4, 2003... SUMMARY Saudi Arabia, a monarchy ruled by the Saudi dynasty, enjoys special importance in the international community because of its unique association with the Islamic religion and its oil wealth. Since the establishment of the modern...

Visa issuances: policy, issues, and legislation.
August 4, 2003... Summary Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, considerable concern has been raised because the 19 terrorists were aliens who apparently entered the United States legally despite provisions in immigration laws that bar the...

Chile: political and economic conditions and U.S. relations.
August 5, 2003... Summary A South American nation with a population of about 15 million, Chile returned to democratic rule in 1990 after 17 years of military government. The current administration of President Ricardo Lagos, inaugurated in March 2000 to a...

China's economic conditions.
August 5, 2003... SUMMARY Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1979, China has become one of the world's fastest growing economies. From 1979-2002, China's real annual GDP averaged 9.3%; it rose by 8.0% in 2002. Many economists speculate that China...

Intelligence issues for congress.
August 5, 2003... SUMMARY The U.S. Intelligence Community continues to adjust to the 21st Century environment. Congressional and executive branch initiatives have emphasized improved cooperation among the different agencies that comprise the Community by...

China and the World Trade Organization.
August 6, 2003... Summary After many years of difficult negotiations, China, on December 11, 2001, become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the international agency that administers multilateral trade rules. Under the terms of its WTO...

Peacekeeping: issues of U.S. military involvement.
August 6, 2003... SUMMARY For about a decade, Congress has expressed reservations about many complex and intertwined peacekeeping issues. The Bush Administration's desire to reduce the commitment of U.S. troops to international peacekeeping parallels the...

Caribbean Basin interim trade program: CBI/NAFTA parity.
August 8, 2003... SUMMARY The entry into force, on January 1, 1994, of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has eliminated the advantage that the beneficiaries of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and related provisions of the...

China and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles: policy issues.
August 8, 2003... Summary Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the U.S. interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could...

Energy policy: the continuing debate.
August 8, 2003... SUMMARY On July 31, 2003, the Senate, facing obstacles to passage of its comprehensive energy bill (S. 14), substituted the energy legislation the Senate had passed and sent to conference in the 107th Congress. Principals are sorting out...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
August 8, 2003... SUMMARY Syria, governed by President Hafiz al-Asad from 1970 until his death in June 2000, is a prominent player in the Middle East scene. Within the region, a number of border disputes, problems of resource allocation, and + political...

The Middle East peace talks.
August 8, 2003... SUMMARY The end of the Cold War, the decline of the Soviet Union, and the U.S.-led victory in the Gulfwar facilitated the beginning of a new peace process in 1991. Israel and the Palestinians discussed a 5-year period of interim self rule...

Cuba: issues for the 108th Congress.
August 11, 2003... Summary Cuba under Fidel Castro remains a hard-line communist state, with a poor record on human rights that has deteriorated significantly in 2003. With the cutoff of assistance from the former Soviet Union, Cuba experienced severe...

Israeli-United States relations.
August 11, 2003... SUMMARY Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support...

Electricity: the road toward restructuring.
August 12, 2003... SUMMARY The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation...

India-U.S. relations.
August 12, 2003... SUMMARY Although the end of the cold war freed India-U.S. relations from the constraints of global bipolarity, New Delhi-Washington relations continued for a decade to be affected by the burden of history, most notably the longstanding...

India: chronology of events.
August 12, 2003... Summary This report provides a reverse chronology of major events involving India and India-U.S. relations from September 2001. (1) For a substantive review of India-U.S. relations, see CRS Issue Brief IB93097, India-U.S. Relations. This...

Free Trade Agreements with Singapore and Chile: labor issues.
August 13, 2003... Summary Singapore and Chile are the fourth and fifth countries to sign trade agreements with the United States that include labor provisions. The first three were Canada and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and...

A Free Trade Area of the Americas: status of negotiations and major policy issues.
August 15, 2003... Summary At the second Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile (April 1998), 34 Western Hemisphere nations agreed to initiate formal negotiations to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005. The process so far has led to...

Iran's nuclear program: recent developments.
August 15, 2003... Summary Iran may be poised to clear one of the biggest technical hurdles in a nuclear weapons program--production of fissile material (enriched uranium in this case). In June, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General...

Egypt-United States relations.
August 20, 2003... SUMMARY U.S.-Egyptian relations are tied to maintaining regional stability, improving bilateral relations focused on Egyptian economic development and military cooperation, developing Egypt's democracy, sustaining the March 1979...

Iraq: United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations.
August 21, 2003... Summary The war with Iraq, which began on March 19, 2003, has now moved into a new phase as a result of coalition forces controlling all of the major cites in Iraq and the end of the Iraqi political and military leadership. Currently, the...

Latin America and the Caribbean: issues for the 108th Congress.
August 22, 2003... Summary This report, which will be updated periodically, examines issues in U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing especially on the role of Congress and congressional concerns. For more details and discussion, see...

Libya.
August 22, 2003... SUMMARY The United Nations Security Council passed three resolutions that placed sanctions on Libya until Libya surrendered for trial two men suspected of bombing Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and French flight UTA 772 in 1989. Libya...

Lebanon.
August 25, 2003... SUMMARY The United States and Lebanon continue to enjoy good relations. At issue between the United States and Lebanon are progress toward a Lebanon-Israel peace treaty and U.S. aid to Lebanon. The United States supports Lebanon's...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
August 26, 2003... SUMMARY The United States began contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in December 1988, after the PLO accepted Israel's right to exist, accepted U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 that call for an exchange of land for peace,...

Afghanistan: current issues and U.S. policy.
August 27, 2003... Summary Afghanistan is a fragile state attempting, with substantial U.S. help, to stabilize after more than 22 years of warfare, including a U.S.-led war that brought the current government to power. Before the U.S. military campaign...

Andean Regional Initiative (ARI): FY2003 supplemental and FY2004 assistance for Colombia and neighbors.
August 27, 2003... Summary In 2003, Congress is considering President Bush's requests for FY2004 and FY2003 supplemental assistance for Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI) launched in 2001. ARI was...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
August 27, 2003... SUMMARY North Korea's decisions to restart nuclear installations at Yongbyon that were shut down under the U.S.-North Korean Agreed Framework of 1994 and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty create an acute foreign policy...

AIDS in Africa.
August 28, 2003... SUMMARY Sub-Saharan Africa has been more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 29.4 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of the...

Israel: U.S. foreign assistance.
August 28, 2003... SUMMARY Israel is not economically self-sufficient, and relies on foreign assistance and borrowing to maintain its economy. Since 1985, the United States has provided $3 billion in grants annually to Israel. Since 1976, Israel has been the...

Israeli-United States relations.
August 28, 2003... SUMMARY Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support...

Terrorists and suicide attacks.
August 28, 2003... Summary Suicide attacks by terrorist organizations have become more prevalent globally, and assessing the threat of suicide attacks against the United States and its interests at home and abroad has therefore gained in strategic...

Campaign finance: constitutional and legal issues of soft money.
August 29, 2003... SUMMARY Prior to enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155, the term "soft money" generally referred to unregulated funds, perceived as resulting from loopholes in the Federal Election Campaign Act...

Iraq: U.S. regime change efforts and post-war governance.
August 29, 2003... Summary In his 2002 and 2003 State of the Union messages, President Bush characterized Iraq as a grave potential threat to the United States because of its refusal to abandon its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs as required by...