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Tariff, non-tariff trade obstacles barriers in 63 major US trading partners detailed

WASHINGTON, DC – 04/06/07 – Unfair trade barriers continue to block US access to several important markets, according to the latest annual National Trade Estimate on Foreign Barriers (NTE) report published by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

“Counterfeiting and piracy, unjustified sanitary and phyto-sanitary [food safety] measures, inefficient, nontransparent customs regimes, high tariff barriers and closed services markets continue to hinder US access to foreign markets,” said USTR General Counsel Warren Maruyama at a press conference following the release of the report.

"A significant amount of work remains to knock down trade barriers and ensure that American exporters have new economic opportunities across the globe," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a press release issued at the same time.

Schwab said the US "continues to use all enforcement tools at its disposal" to ensure fair treatment for US workers and consumers.

Maruyama said the US continues to be concerned about Europe's trade-distorting subsidies to the aircraft manufacturing consortium Airbus, and remains concerned about China's prohibited subsidy practices.

The US has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution consultations on China's apparent use of prohibited export and import substitution subsidies, which the USTR has said harms small and medium-sized US-based manufacturers.

The US also has said it will ask for WTO consultations if China does not enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) protections.

Inadequate IPR protections reduce US access to China's market and other countries' markets for such products as films, music, published materials, software, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, information technology, consumer goods, industrial goods, food products, medical devices, electrical equipment, automotive parts, clothing, and footwear, according to the release.

Other trade problems include several countries' blocking of US beef exports, and India's discriminatory taxes on wine and distilled spirits, Maruyama said.

The US has requested WTO dispute settlement consultations on those taxes.The NTE report detailed barriers to US trade and international investment in 63 major trading partners.

Maruyama said the Bush Administration “has achieved significant success in advancing its pro-growth, market-opening trade agenda.”

He said that in the past year the US has negotiated free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and Peru after resolving long-standing food safety issues and reaching agreements covering meat, poultry, rice, dairy and processed foods.

Just last weekend, the US concluded a free trade agreement with South Korea.Also during 2006, China removed anti-dumping duties on certain US paper products, making the removal one of the US "notable successes" in working to eliminate trade barriers, the USTR said.

Other successes were bilateral WTO market access agreements reached with Vietnam, Russia, and Ukraine. The agreements will result in "substantial" new market access for US goods and services when those countries join the WTO, the trade office said.

In 2006, the US and the European Union (EU) also agreed on a package of bilateral actions on US exports of fish, chemicals, agricultural products and services.

The package was designed to offset tariff increases US products faced when the EU expanded in 2004, according to the release.

In 2007, the USTR plans to evaluate more potential free-trade agreement partners and prioritize potential WTO enforcement actions,” said Maruyama.

The USTR prepares its annual NTE report in cooperation with other US agencies and US embassies.

It said it soon will report on barriers facing US telecommunications services and equipment providers and on the adequacy of US trading partners' IPR protections.

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