USTR Issues 2006 Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its 2006 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), which is an annual report documenting foreign trade and investment barriers and U.S. efforts to reduce and eliminate those barriers.
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According to the USTR, the NTE report provides an account of the barriers and unfair trade practices to American exports of goods, services, and farm products. The NTE report covers the 62 major U.S. trading partners listed below:
| Dominican Republic | Qatar |
The USTR notes that some major ongoing problems include: inadequate intellectual protection rights (IPR) enforcement in China; subsidies for large commercial aircraft in the European Union (EU); and a closed market to U.S. beef in Japan.
NTE report plays key role in development of 1377 and "Special 301" reports. According to the USTR, the information gathered for the NTE report plays a key role in the decision making process in its (1) 1377 Review, a report that focuses on the barriers facing U.S. telecommunications services and equipment providers and lays out the specific telecommunications-related issues on which USTR will focus its efforts for the year, and (2) "Special 301" annual report on the adequacy and effectiveness of IPR protection in trading partners around the world.
USTR press release (dated 03/31/06), available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2006/March/Bush_Administration_Submits_Annual_Trade_Report_To_Congress.html- 6 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2006/2006_NTE_Report/Section_Index.html