USTR Flags Tech Trade Barriers
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk's 2009 report to Congress, which describes significant barriers to U.S. trade and investment and actions being taken by officials to address them, flags a number of topics of interest to the tech sector. They include:
• Onerous testing and certification requirements on more than 1,200 consumer goods
• New requirements to register and inspect a broad range of imports
• Ineffective enforcement against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy
• Cumbersome and non-transparent approval processes for biotech products
• Discriminatory excise taxes requiring imported products to pay rates 10 to 43 times higher than before
• Prohibited export subsidies (e.g., for "national" brands) that are highly trade distorting
• Limitations to foreign participation in telecom markets, both basic and value added, through a multiplicity of barriers, including high basic capital requirements, and non-transparent and lengthy investment approvals.
The USTR is beginning a review of the implementation of our existing trade agreements, including the enforcement of the labor and environment provisions, the office said in a press release. It is also initiating a process to prioritize trade barriers enumerated in the National Trade Estimate Report and to address the most significant. Additionally, USTR is identifying new cases where market access for U.S. goods and services is in jeopardy because of disregard for the rule of law and is planning to prosecute those cases through multilateral and bilateral dispute resolution.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus