# Written Submission in ITC Investigation No. TPA-105–008, Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented Under Trade Authorities Procedures 

November 6, 2020 • Public Comments 

By [Simon Lester](https://www.cato.org/people/simon-lester) and [Inu Manak](https://www.cato.org/people/inu-manak) 

**United States International Trade Commission**

[ 

Download PDF 

](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-11/lester-manak-public-filing-11-6-2020.pdf) 

Dear Secretary Barton,

This submission is in relation to your investigation on Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented under Trade Authorities Procedures, 2021 Update. We believe this investigation is a useful exercise, and we welcome the opportunity to provide our views.

Our submission focuses on two general shortcomings that we have identified as a particular challenge for economic impact assessments of trade agreements: 1) insufficient public information on the operation of many trade agreements, which makes it difficult for the members of the public to weigh in with constructive comments; and 2) methodological issues that can contribute to an incomplete picture of a trade agreement’s impact. We elaborate on these two points below.

### Download This Public Comment

##### Written Submission in ITC Investigation No. TPA-105–008, Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented Under Trade Authorities Procedures 

[ 

Download PDF 

](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-11/lester-manak-public-filing-11-6-2020.pdf) 

##### About the Authors 

[![Simon Lester](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Simon%20Lester.jpg?itok=noQ9immh)](/people/simon-lester) 

##### [Simon Lester](/people/simon-lester)

Cofounder, World​TradeLaw​.net, and Former Legal Affairs Officer, Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization

[![Inu Manak](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Inu%20Manuk.jpg?itok=8bgu-vN2)](/people/inu-manak) 

##### [Inu Manak](/people/inu-manak)

Fellow for Trade Policy, Council on Foreign Relations

[ 

](https://twitter.com/inumanak) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

[ 

Download PDF 

](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-11/lester-manak-public-filing-11-6-2020.pdf)