USTR Spells Out Perennial Trade Barriers in National Trade Estimate
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released in recent days its annual National Trade Estimate, a review of U.S. trade ties and barriers on a country-by-country basis. The U.S. is continuing efforts to combat trade barriers, such as arbitrary testing, labeling and certifications, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and high, trade-inhibiting tariffs, said USTR in the NTE (here). The review also placed particular emphasis on corruption as a trade barrier, saying bribery and other forms of corruption impacts customs and licensing and has the potential to “negate market access gained through trade negotiations.”
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The majority of the NTE, however, targets traditional tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, and the review identified problematic accounts of global trade behavior in countries participating in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. USTR again criticized burdensome regulatory processes in Japan, as well as restrictions on market access through tariffs and tariff-rate quotas. The U.S. continues to pressure Japan to open its agricultural market in TPP negotiations. Japan is the largest export market for U.S. pork, beef and related products, but the country imposes a 38.5 percent tariff on U.S. beef, along with high tariffs on other products. USTR also urged Japan to hike its de minimis level, which is now at $84.
U.S. industry is also eyeing a boon to trade with Vietnam through TPP. Many lawmakers, however, remain concerned about labor conditions and human rights in the country (see 1503250020). In its 2015 NTE, USTR identified several Vietnamese regulatory barriers, such as excessive documentation and registration requirements. The review urges Vietnam to fully implement its obligations on the World Trade Organization Customs Valuation Agreement, and raised ongoing concerns about “red tape and corruption” in customs clearance.
In its section on Canada, the NTE points to ongoing U.S. efforts to end Canadian supply management programs. U.S. industry has aggressively confronted these programs and called for their removal in TPP, but Canada hasn't indicated it is willing to make concessions (see 1502060011). “Canada’s supply management regime severely limits the ability of U.S. producers to increase exports to Canada above TRQ levels and inflates the prices Canadians pay for dairy and poultry products,” said USTR. “Under the current system, U.S. imports above quota levels are subject to prohibitively high tariffs (e.g., 245 percent for cheese, 298 percent for butter).” The review also emphasized poor intellectual property rights protections and geographical indication barriers.
The U.S. is also concerned that recent industrial policies on domestic support and local content requirements in China threaten to restrict access for U.S. companies in the Chinese market, the review says. Those barriers come in the form of indigenous innovation regulations, export subsidies and restraints, and import bans, said USTR, while discussing other Chinese barriers to trade.