Examples of TBs:
- Barriers to U.S. agricultural exports. The NTE Report highlights cross-cutting barriers affecting U.S. agricultural trade, including opaque and burdensome facility registration requirements, such as Indonesia’s facility registration requirements for dairy, meat, and rendered products, and the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) requirements across a wide range of food and agricultural products; sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that are not based on science, are maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, or are applied beyond the extent necessary to address SPS issues, such as India and Turkey’s procedures and requirements for agricultural biotechnology approvals, Mexico’s policies regarding products of agricultural biotechnology, and the European Union’s non-science-based policies affecting innovative crop protection technologies; and lack of adherence to science- and risk-based standards and commitments related to trade in poultry products from regions impacted by highly pathogenic avian influenza, including by the PRC. USTR is determined to use all available tools to ensure that U.S. agricultural producers are provided fair access to compete on a level playing field globally, and to ensure safe, wholesome food and agricultural products to consumers worldwide.
- Failure to recognize U.S. motor vehicle standards. Certain countries effectively exclude U.S. vehicles built to conform to the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). These standards provide a high level of protection that matches or exceeds that of other countries. Over the coming year, USTR will continue its engagement with foreign government and authorities on this issue, to ensure that U.S. exports of FMVSS-compliant vehicles are able to access these markets, including Colombia, Egypt, Laos, Morocco, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan.
- Lack of uniformity in the European Union. U.S. stakeholders continue to face challenges in the European Union in having to address disparate policies or procedures across Member States. Areas of concern include customs, labeling, agricultural biotechnology, packaging and packing waste, government procurement, investment, and intellectual property protection and enforcement.
- Non-Market Policies and Practices. The PRC’s state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade continues to shape the industrial policies that the PRC pursues, and provide unfair competitive advantages to PRC companies. This includes massive financial support and regulatory and other preferences and formal and informal policies and practices that seek to disadvantage foreign competitors. This behavior is heavily distorting and disrupting markets, which has led to severe and persistent excess capacity, as evidenced by the ongoing situations in the steel, aluminum, and solar industries, among others. The PRC is focused on numerous industries in advanced manufacturing, high technology, and other key economic sectors, where the PRC is setting and pursuing production and market share targets that can only be achieved through non-market means. USTR is determined to pursue all available domestic trade tools to protect the competitiveness of U.S. workers and businesses and will continue to work closely with like-minded allies and trading partners to address the PRC’s harmful policies and practices.
- Data policies in furtherance of state intrusion. The United States is aware that data localization policies can be use by government to surveil their populations, interfere with labor rights, and otherwise compromise civil and political liberties. There are also circumstances in which data policies lack clarity and pose compliance challenges. USTR has identified problematic data policies across a range of countries, including the PRC and Russia.