Highlights from USTR's 2011 List of Barriers to U.S. Trade, Investment

The following are highlights of the report:

Barriers Include IPR Enforcement, Customs Procedures, Tariff, AD, Issues, Etc.

This report classifies foreign trade barriers into different categories covering government-imposed measures and policies that restrict, prevent, or impede the international exchange of goods and services, including:

Import policies. Tariffs and other import charges, quantitative restrictions, import licensing, and customs barriers. (The Arab League, China, Colombia, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Venezuela, etc.)

Antidumping. Lack of transparency and due process in administration of antidumping laws and regulations. (Argentina, Brazil, China, Mexico, South Africa, etc.)

Customs. Lack of transparency in foreign customs regimes, including inconsistent application of transaction valuation methodology and use of arbitrary values. (EU, India, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, etc.)

Government procurement. "Buy national" policies and closed bidding. (Chile, China, Colombia, EU, Japan, Korea, Venezuela, etc.)

Export subsidies. Export financing on preferential terms and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S. exports in third country markets. (China, Colombia, India, Brazil, etc.)

IPR. Inadequate patent, copyright, and trademark regimes and enforcement of intellectual property rights. (China, Colombia, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, etc.)

Services barriers. Limits on the range of financial services offered by foreign financial institutions, regulation of international data flows, restrictions on the use of foreign data processing, and barriers to the provision of services by foreign professionals. (China, Colombia, European Union, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, etc.)

Investment barriers. Limitations on foreign equity participation and on access to foreign government-funded research and development programs, local content requirements, technology transfer requirements and export performance requirements, and restrictions on repatriation of earnings, capital, fees and royalties. (China, Colombia, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, etc.)

Electronic commerce. Tariff and nontariff measures, burdensome and discriminatory regulations and standards, and discriminatory taxation that affect electronic commerce. (China, EU, Russia, etc.)

Transparency, corruption, etc. Barriers that encompass more than one category, e.g., bribery and corruption, or that affect a single sector. (China, EU, Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc.)

Largest Export Markets Examined for Barriers to U.S. Trade

This report discusses the largest export markets for the U.S., including: 58 countries, the EU, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and one regional body. Some countries were excluded from this report due primarily to the relatively small size of their markets or the absence of major trade complaints from representatives of U.S. goods and services sectors. However, the omission of particular countries and barriers does not imply that they are not of concern to the U.S.

The report discusses key barriers to U.S. trade in the following areas:

(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/31/11 news, 11033122, for BP summary announcing the availability of USTR's three trade barrier reports.

See ITT's Online Archives or 04/01/11 news, 11040123, for BP summary of USTR's 2011 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Report.

See ITT's Online Archives or 04/05/11 news, 11040534, for BP summary of USTR's 2011 Technical Barriers to Trade Report.)